Javier Solana is the European Union's foreign minister. His full title is "Secretary-General of the Council of the EU and High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy." And he is every bit as influential as the lofty title implies. Here is his schedule for just seven days in October:

• Meet with minister for foreign affairs for Macedonia to discuss that country's progress along the road to integration into the EU.

• Issue a statement of support for the recent Kosovo elections, criticizing the Kosovo Serbs for their low turnout.

• Participate in meeting of all EU chiefs of police to discuss European security and defense—an immensely important matter in a time of great terrorist threat.

• Meet with NATO's North Atlantic Council, which is responsible for the security of member states and is the most important decision-making body of NATO, according to its handbook.

• Visit Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Khartoum, Sudan. Addis Ababa is hosting a meeting of the African Union (AU), whose forces are entering the Sudan to try to end the genocide occurring in Darfur. The EU has promised to finance over half of the AU's costs. Dr. Solana is meeting with the Sudanese government in Khartoum to help negotiate continued efforts to end the 22-year civil war.

• During the same visit, meet with representatives of Somalia to help facilitate its peaceful reunification.

• Meet with the Palestinian Authority's minister of foreign affairs, Nabeel Shaath, to help get Israel and the Palestinans back on track toward peace. Frustrated with the virtually defunct Road Map to Peace, the EU wants to resuscitate it and is launching what it calls the Street Map to Peace.

• In the same time frame, issue a public statement of praise for the Israeli Knesset's decision to pull its settlements out of Gaza.

As we go to press, there are reports that Yasser Arafat is seriously ill. Should Arafat die, Dr. Solana will undoubtedly have a hand in helping the Palestinians regroup and redefine themselves under new leadership.

Clearly, Dr. Solana is a busy man, but more than that, his work shows that the EU is extending its footprint of influence throughout greater Europe, the Middle East and in North Africa.

In a startling development, Dr. Solana says that the EU is considering sending "a police mission on the ground" to help train Palestinian security forces, which must police Gaza if the Israeli army pulls out. Think of that—European troops in Israel to help ensure peace. Students of Bible prophecy will immediately think of Christ's warning, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near" (Luke 21:20). A police mission is not the complete fulfillment of this significant prophecy, but it shows how readily it could be fulfilled.