The clock is ticking and the EU beast has urgent matters to resolve. For example, who will become the next president of the Commission in November when Romano Prodi steps down Read about it here? And even more pressing, how will all 25 member states ever be able to agree in June on the EU's new Constitution Read about it here.

Yes, the clock is ticking. But I don't think things are as out of control as the news suggests. You see, when we cut through the surface issues and look a little deeper, a clear pattern is emerging. The EU Council is continually being strengthened and the EU presidency and the EU Commission is continually being weakened. And it's hard for me to believe this wasn't planned.

And once again this brings us back to Recommendation 666 and what I wrote about in my book. The bottom line is, a new center of power was created in the EU when the office of High Representative was established within the Council. And that new center of power is now threatening the other two major EU institutions -- the Commission and Parliament -- and the EU presidency.

In fact, according to this report, the only person whose political future is not in question at this critical time appears to be the EU's High Representative Javier Solana Read about it here.

Yes, the clock is ticking.

But I think the alarm is already set.