The agreement forged by leaders of the European Union on how to replace their ill-fated constitutional treaty is not a pretty sight. It is littered with declarations and protocols designed to meet the special needs of individual states, above all the UK. The eventual treaty will not be a "simplified treaty", although it will have abandoned the trappings of a constitution.

But at least the deal they struck as dawn broke in Brussels on Saturday morning is an agreement, and not the disarray that once threatened. Even the truculent Poles, more concerned with restraining German voting power than making friends, were persuaded to accept a hard-fought compromise. With luck it will be enough to put the wrangling about rules behind the EU, and enable the 27 member states to get back to business.