It is now virtually certain that duty free sales within the EU will end on 30 June. The summit of EU leaders ended in Cologne without agreement to extend the service. Ireland, along with Germany, France and Britain had sought to win a last-minute reprieve, but Danish opposition meant there was not the required unanimity.
In a separate development, the leaders have decided that Javier Solana, the current NATO Secretary-General is to become the EUs first foreign and security policy chief. The announcement was made by the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder. Mr Solana, a former Spanish Foreign Minister, will take up the new post after his term of office at NATO expires at the end of the year. He will act as a spokesman for the European Union and will head up a strengthened policy making apparatus in Brussels.
