European Union leaders held a peaceful two-day summit in Stockholm last weekend. After the bitter row in Nice last year, a show of unity was as important as any concrete results. The EU leaders got that, and a little more. But the bar must be raised if Europe is to play a larger role in global affairs. There are lingering doubts about the EU's ability to do that.
The Nice summit highlighted the growing tension at the heart of Europe. The Franco-German axis that has driven unification has weakened. A new generation of leaders, and the new political and economic realities that they must contend with, have brought about fundamental changes in the relationship between Paris and Berlin. Accommodating those changes has been difficult. At Nice, tensions boiled over.
This time, the temperature was considerably cooler. Credit Stockholm in spring, or perhaps it was the approach of Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, who chaired the meeting. No matter which, European leaders left Stockholm with a brighter outlook than they left Nice four months ago.