Ahead of George W. Bush's presidential visit to Europe next month, transatlantic relations stand at a crucial point. The mood of pragmatism evident since Mr Bush's re-election last November - underscored during his European tour in February - continues to prevail on both sides of the Atlantic. But it has more of the hallmarks of a fragile ceasefire than of a new phase of strategic transatlantic engagement. And its rhetoric has yet to be translated into action.

How can the US administration and its European counterparts best build on their stated desire to place transatlantic co-ordination at the heart of their foreign policies? There are those who argue that now is the time for the US and Europe to agree a new Atlantic Charter or, at least, to update the 1995 New Transatlantic Agenda in this, its 10th anniversary year. Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, has suggested convening a wise men's group to re-assess the relative institutional responsibilities of Nato and the European Union.