Ghent Summit highlights tensions

The issue of the introduction of the euro received a degree of attention at the Ghent summit. However, a draft statement calling on the European Central Bank (ECB) to take action on interest rates was watered down in its final declaration, as some countries feared it would be a sign of interference in the Bank's independence.

The rest of the summit was largely taken up with the issue of EU anti-terrorism measures and the US action in Afghanistan. The future of Europe debate that is to be the focus of December's Laeken summit and the question of enlargement were largely confined to the footnotes of the meeting.

A pre-summit meeting held between Britain, France and Germany to discuss their support for the fight against terrorism infuriated a number of the excluded Member States. Some commentators see it as giving the impression of a Europe divided over how to approach international security issues.

The practical obstacles to the EU's proposed anti-terrorism measures such as a European arrest warrant, a common definition of terrorism and money laundering rules were made all the more apparent in Ghent. Reconciling the 15 different constitutional approaches to such issues as well as the many civil liberties concerns will make it difficult to meet the target of formally agreeing on these measures before the end of the year.