The visits to Europe in February by Condoleezza Rice, George W. Bush's newly appointed secretary of state and by the US president himself did a good deal to purge transatlantic relations of the poison over the invasion of Iraq.

The warm words addressed to the European Union's institutions might look even more significant if Europe's constitutional treaty hits the rocks at either the French or Dutch referendums next month. Since the February visits, there have been welcome signs that leaders on both sides of the Atlantic have rediscovered that their two-way radios can receive as well as transmit - US backing for Britain, France and Germany's negotiations with Iran has strengthened, while the EU has slowed moves towards lifting its arms embargo on China.