EU treaty The EU’s imperfect world

The EU’s new treaty, agreed on in Lisbon early on Friday morning, is weaker than the constitution which French and Dutch voters rejected in 2005. But in an imperfect world, even a flawed treaty is better than none. Investors should give the new arrangements a cautious welcome. The changes from the existing arrangements are more technical than fundamental. There will be a president with a five-year term, but with limited authority. Ditto for the new EU “foreign minister”. Brussels isn’t going to ...