A summit to nowhere

摘要

In these carbon-conscious times, there was much carping because European Union leaders held a party in Portugal to sign their new treaty, only to fly 1,700km (1,060 miles) to Brussels for a formal summit the next day. This jet-setting was indeed wasteful, and not only in the obvious way. The Lisbon bash on December 13th was both interesting and revealing; it was the summit in Brussels that was dull and largely devoid of substance. Lisbon's revelations included the fact that eu leaders are unsure how to treat their union's almost-anthem, the "Ode to Joy". This bit of Beethoven's ninth symphony was given formal status in the defunct eu constitution only to be ditched, along with the flag and the motto, when the text was reworked into a "reform treaty". In Lisbon it took a moment for people to recognise the Beethoven being thumped out on a piano. But as a choir began singing the "Ode to Joy", most jumped to their feet (the Austrian chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, showily singing along).