Key function. The conclusions of last week's European Council (reproduced as an annex to this bulletin for those who have not yet read them and may wish to have them available in a few pages) are both disappointing and encouraging. Disappointing in that they do not contain any real decisions; encouraging in that they testify to the summit returning to its key function, which is not to appease conflicts or negotiate compromises but to affirm the broad outlines of EU activity and to point the...