The American reaction to this piecemeal construction of the "European pillar" has always been ambivalent.

Attention focused chiefly on strengthening the "European pillar" of the military alliance, although members failed to agree on how precisely this was to be achieved.

But in a novel departure, today's communique welcomed "recent efforts to reinforce the European pillar of the alliance."

Such military cooperation between Western European powers is called "the European pillar."

The European pillar does not really function any more as such.

For a very long time, there has been talk of the European pillar alongside the American one.

Unfortunately, the European pillar is not much of a pillar.

The fact that this European pillar does not exist is not the Americans' fault.

The opposite is true: it aims to strengthen the European pillar within the framework of the United Nations, and this goes without saying.

In the light of Pörtschach it is very important to determine exactly what the 'European pillar' involves.