Gordon Brown will welcome Nicolas Sarkozy to London on March 27. Almost 10 years ago, their predecessors as British prime minister and French president, Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, launched the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) at St Malo. At this week’s Franco-British summit, defence co-operation will once again be on the agenda.

The ESDP has had its successes. Soldiers have been dispatched to Bosnia and Congo, policemen to Kosovo and Afghanistan, customs officers to Moldova and peace-monitors to Aceh in Indonesia.