EU defence ministers meet in Brussels tomorrow to review progress towards an EU security and defence policy.
The long-scheduled meeting is to assess latest moves in the campaign against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden - but officials emphasised the meeting was a routine "informal" gathering which has not been called in response to the terrorism crisis.
The meeting is so informal that UK Defence Secretary Mr Geoff Hoon and his counterparts will be meeting tomorrow night in a classic car museum, resuming their talks on Friday morning in an army museum, and ending with lunch at a military academy.
The talks will range over the roles of national parliaments in the establishment for the first time of an EU "defence identity", as well as reviewing progress towards a conference on "capability improvement" which will be held in Brussels in December.
The Western Balkans and Macedonia are also on the agenda, and one EU official insisted: "This is not a crisis meeting on Afghanistan. It is an opportunity to access progress on the EU's common security and defence arm, which of course is being developed alongside Nato."