The Secretary General of NATO, Mr Javier Solans, was last night nominated as the EU's first head of foreign and security policy, officially Secretary General of the Council of Ministers.
The debate on a series of appointments took place over dinner following the briefing by President Martti Ahtissari of Finland on the result of his Belgrade talks.
The genial Mr Solana, a former Spanish Socialist minister and one-time pacifist, took over the NATO job in 1996 from the disgraced Belgian, Mr Willy Claes, and has been a popular and respected leader in a difficult time. His appointment to the job known as "Mr CFSP" reflects the seriousness with which EU leaders view the challenges of the new post.
He is not be expected to take up the job, created by the Amsterdam Treaty, until December. Labour has urged the Taoiseach to resist his appointment because of his NATO background. His deputy will be Mr Philip de Boissieu, the French ambassador to the EU, whose task will be to run the other directorates of the substantial Council of Ministers' organisation.