Transat AG2R 2010 La Mondiale (Concarneau – Saint Barth) : le site d’Henri-Paul Schipman et Pierre Canevet est en ligne. Suivez chaque jour leurs billets transmis depuis leur bateau par satellite….

This is probably the biggest mistake commentators have overlooked for long: The Lisbon Treaty never intended to get rid of the rotating presidency, it just formally installed a separate institution – the European Council – that now needed a formal leadership.

What we are seeing now is just simply that the power balances have not been clearly set out in the EU Treaties, Lisbon version. And it is good that Obama doesn’t come because this might put some pressures on the EU institutions to sort that out.

I don’t think I would want to go to Brussels to ask for British troops in Afghanistan, for example, and certainly not for confidential talks with British security.

There is a certain wooden-headedness, IMHO, in the drive to make Europe one “country” when in reality different parts of Europe have very different exposures to the international scene, different capabilities, different levels of experience and different policies.

If I am Obama, am I really that interested in “Europe”‘s vote on the deployment of British ships, or do I just want the ships? Who really cares what Berlusconi and Zapatero think about the Royal Navy? They don’t pay for it, anyway, although I expect they would be delighted to posture over its use.

And I think you can say similar things about a European country’s support for the US at the UN, or a European country’s Banking system.

Imagine if Paulson had had to go to Brussels as Lehmann was melting down. Dealing with Darling was no doubt enough of a hassle, but imagine if Paulson had had to wait for Darling to line up votes by Papandreu and Sarkozyn – who no doubt would have gloried in being thoroughly obstructive abut helping those irresponsible Anglo-Saxons.

Speed counts.