The New York Times:"At the E.U., Everyone's Talking and No One Is Listening"

The headline of New York Times EU correspondent Stephen Castle´s article, published on the eve of the annual Europe Day celebrations just about tells the true story:

At the E.U., Everyone's Talking and No One Is Listening

BRUSSELS — Seeking to give the European Union a more powerful role on the global stage, the Lisbon Treaty aimed to help it find a united voice on foreign policy.
Yet after Osama bin Laden was killed on Monday, the E.U.’s senior figures put out no fewer than five separate declarations over more than 12 hours. The last of these came from Catherine Ashton, who became the E.U.’s first foreign policy chief almost 18 months ago.
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The confusion highlights a flaw in the Lisbon Treaty, which fudged the role of the key E.U. players, giving both Mr. Van Rompuy and Mr. Barroso some role in foreign policy.
In the world of Brussels power politics, officials seem reluctant to take a back seat, even if they know that doing so might be to the greater good of the Union. The result threatens to be a continuing proliferation of words — and less sign than ever that the rest of the world is paying attention.

PS
In its own bizarre way, the Lisbon treaty (the new EU "constitution") actually reflects the reality of disunity within the EU quite well: The constant turf fighting going on in Brussels between the self inflated, unelected EU top bureaucrats makes it much easier for the general public to see this reality.