Will 2003 go down in the annals of European construction as a wasted year? This may appear to be a provocative question, but it is one worth posing. When we review the main events of the year, we are bound to acknowledge that Europe has failed to keeps its promises. Its political promises, with the failure of the Brussels European Council in December, postponing the adoption of the European Constitution. Its economic promises, with the Lisbon objectives (2000) seeming to recede ever further into the distance because of the sluggishness of economic growth in "old Europe" and the lack of economic policy co-ordination. Its social promises, with the slow but relentless rise in unemployment (8.8% in the euro zone in December 2003). Its diplomatic promises, with Europe's dissension over the war in Iraq. And we could go on to mention the crisis of confidence in the common rules, stirred up by the Stability and Growth Pact affair...