DEFENSIVE PLANNING SHOWS EU WEAKNESS.

• Position: European Commission released legislative programme

The European Commission released its work programme for 2006 just as the leaders of the European Union were gathering in Hampton Court for a summit intended to deliver consensus on where the EU is going.

Only a coincidence, of course. But it is no coincidence that the Commission document devotes as much attention to the need for common efforts as it does to its own legislative programme.

The lessons of the last few years are gradually sinking in. The EU, in its current configuration, and with its current leadership, offers little scope for the Commission to impart a powerful dynamic to the evolution of the EU. And it is clearly recognising this.

That is why it depicts itself repeatedly in its 2006 plan as "only one actor amongst many", and why it underlines that the EU "will only achieve its goals if these are pursued together by its institutions, national, regional and local government, and by citizens themselves".

The evidence is all too obvious. The member states have gone their own way on everything from the Lisbon Agenda to the stability pact. The arguments over the services directive and chemicals safety have demonstrated how easily Commission plans are now blown off course. And the Commission is having to make its plans in the face of paralysis over the Treaty, and delays on EU future funding - which "will have a decisive...