A couple of weeks ago, the 25 European Union ambassadors in Washington reviewed what we have seen so far of George W. Bush’s second-term foreign policy. After a lengthy period in which the transatlantic alliance had seemed something of an oxymoron, the conversation was surprisingly upbeat.

When the president visited Brussels in February, his hosts were sceptical that his new attentiveness presaged much more than an indulgent tone. Ten months later, the ambassadors agreed – albeit one or two grudgingly – that there had also been a marked and welcome change in substance.