President Jacques Chirac has finally agreed that 2,000 French servicemen will wear the blue helmets of the Unifil forces and Italy has said it will provide a further 3,000 troops.

Of course, the safety of the soldiers charged with such a dangerous operation in a volatile area must be paramount, but the length of time it has taken to work out enforceable rules of engagement and chains of command in an emergency has again undermined EU credibility.

The slow EU response has done little to encourage the US to believe in either the efficiency of the United Nations or the European Union, both of which want President Bush to adopt a multilateral approach to foreign policy.

The UN says at least 15,000 troops will be needed to police the wasteland that has been created thanks to the Israeli pounding of the south Lebanon stronghold of Hezbollah.

President Chirac is disputing the number of troops UN secretary general Kofi Annan wants to deploy. He says only 7,000 are needed.

Israel won't withdraw fully until a strong force of United Nations peacekeepers arrives to join forces with the Lebanese army.

The longer it takes to send a robust force, the greater the likelihood that the fragile ceasefire may break down.

The EU has been a persistent critic of the United States' gung-ho approach to international crises. But its own record is poor. A supine Europe watched while mass murder was committed in Bosnia.

If Europe wants to be respected as an active player on the international stage and as an alternative influence to the US . . . with equally strong and workable policies in the face of war and threats of violence . . . then it must show it can act speedily in a crisis rather than just talk.