As he left Stockholm on Saturday after the summit of EU leaders, France's President Jacques Chirac acknowledged that progress on economic reform did not look impressive.
"Our working methods may be disastrous and our ambition limited. But things progress none the less," he said.
Things might have progressed further if France had not refused to accept early deadlines for the liberalisation of its energy markets - one of the key items on the agenda. But the summit's failure to approve all the Swedish presidency's proposals to liberalise Europe's economy may reflect popular feeling rather than just political stubbornness. At his closing press conference, the Swedish Prime Minister, Mr Goran Persson, tried to put a brave face on the summit's modest outcome.
"Anyone who knows anything about European politics will know this was the best we could achieve," he said.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, acknowledged that more economically liberal member-states such as Ireland would prefer to have seen more liberalisation of markets. But he expressed confidence that measures such as the liberalisation of energy markets would take effect after a relatively short delay.
The Stockholm summit was part of a 10-year programme of economic reform aimed at making the EU the most competitive place in the world to do business. But it also represented an important ideological struggle between those who want to move closer to a US economic model and others who are more concerned about preserving the European social model.
On the face of it, the freemarketeers had a disappointing weekend, with three of the most important economic reforms bogged down in disputes. An alliance between France and Germany prevented the setting of deadlines for energy liberalisation, although the leaders agreed to open the markets in principle.
Under the EU system, the Commission will now make a proposal on the issue, which can be approved by the member-states using qualified majority voting. The proposal is not likely to be ready until after next year's French elections, when the issue will be less sensitive politically.
A plan to create a single air traffic control system for Europe has been held up by a dispute between Britain and Spain over the status of Gibraltar airport. And arguments over details prevented agreement on the creation of a single European patent.
Even the summit's big success, the approval of the Lamfalussy report to create a single European capital market by 2005, is not without problems.
The European Parliament has threatened to block the move unless its members are given more powers to scrutinise financial securities legislation.
Agreement on the social agenda was easier to secure and the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to full employment while setting targets for bringing more people into the workforce. All member-states have agreed to implement national action plans to combat poverty and social exclusion and agreed that the EU should monitor progress in this field.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the summit, however, was the way in which the direct link between economic and social issues has been accepted by the EU leaders.
And the centre-left governments that dominate the EU did not get everything their own way: the summit agreed to launch a public register of state aid in each member-state by July and to reduce the level of such aid by 2003.
And the summit had bad news for those who shop on the Internet. The member-states agreed to apply VAT to all electronic purchases by the end of this year.
As the European stock market falls and the euro remains weak against the dollar, the markets are likely to be disappointed by the modest steps towards reform taken in Stockholm. But with growing signs that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates on Thursday, the impact of the summit on the markets may not be significant.
