I should like to say here that I have a feeling, perhaps a
ray of optimism on this dark and difficult day, that it is the will of the Member States and, I believe, of our citizens, that the crisis in Iraq – which has given rise to so much discussion and will surely continue to do so over coming weeks and months, perhaps even years – should now be used as a springboard by the European Union for drawing important conclusions about its own inst
itutions, about our role, about the challenges we face and about how we can deal
with this ...[+++]situation more effectively.