So it’s a four week war. Saddam Hussein and his henchmen toppled; many dead, dying and wounded; rape, pillage and general lawlessness; political anarchy in Iraq; instability across the Middle East; the United States triumphant; the United Nations in turmoil; NATO fading away and the European Union deeply divided. At home, Labour split and demoralised. Quite a record for Mr Blair to mull over as he tries to enjoy Easter. What historians will make of it all is up to them. The Liberal Democrats remain, by and large, opposed to the war in the circumstances in which it has been fought, highly critical of what we see as the prime minister’s political misjudgement and intensely fearful of the aftermath. If Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are not now discovered by the victorious troops, or if the Americans cannot stop themselves from going after Syria or Iran, the public mood in Europe will darken further.

At the European Parliament we are debating what, if anything, the European Union can do to help resolve the crisis. In theory, it is well placed to help. The EU has the powers and the resources to help alleviate humanitarian suffering. We even have armed forces and policemen we could put in place within a month to help make peace and restore law and order. In Macedonia, in the Balkans, the EU now runs the peace-keeping troops. In Kosovo we are holding the line. In Bosnia EU police forces are regaining the civil space from the criminal gangs so that democracy and a market economy can emerge.

As far as Iraq is concerned, however, the essential political consensus among Europeans is not there. Some Euro MPs ask why the Union as a whole should fork out to make good the disrepair caused unilaterally by the ‘coalition’, acting with no UN mandate. Others observe, quite rightly, that the UK cannot command support from the majority of the EU’s member states. France, the chief protagonist, is unlikely to lift a finger to help the reconstruction of Iraq if that benighted country is ruled for much longer by US martial law without a UN mandate. Without a developing consensus at home, it will be impossible for the European Union to act effectively abroad. That is how Europe works. By tacit agreement. Once you hear people speak of a common European foreign, security and defence policy, that consensus will have been rediscovered. Not unless; nor until.