One of Barack Obama’s first acts as US president was to announce his intention to close the Guantánamo Bay detention centre within a year. Since that day, his plan has been the subject of acute tension between Washington and the European Union. EU leaders were initially delighted that the new president contemplated the closure of a camp they regard as one of the worst excesses of the Bush years. But when the President asked the EU to take some of Guantánamo’s 240 detainees on to their own soil, the bloc’s leaders, fearing the security implications, were aghast at the prospect.

This week, however, the EU has finally started responding to Mr Obama’s call. On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed a framework under which ex-detainees can now be admitted to the bloc’s territory. Since then, Europe has moved further. Italy said on Tuesday it would take three detainees. Spain, Portugal and Hungary on Thursday indicated they may take more than half a dozen between them. This is only a start, of course. Europe is nowhere near accepting the 60 or so detainees that the Obama administration wants to hand over. But, for now, the EU looks like it is trying to heed the call.