I have to tell you that no one does it better than the Brits. There's a long list of what could constitute "it", but what brought the comment to mind was yesterday's State Visit of the Polish President, Aleksander Kwasnieski.

Foreign Secretaries have a walk-on part for the opening ceremony of incoming State Visits. Along with the Prime Minister and Home Secretary, we have to assemble on a covered dais on the Horse Guards (from where the Trooping the Colour ceremony takes place) along with various uniformed dignitaries - the Lord Mayors of the City and of Westminster, High Admirals, senior Generals, Air Chief Marshals and the Police Commissioner - and David Blunkett's dog.

His dog, Sadie, is becoming quite a star. She upstaged Michael Howard in the Budget; yesterday she decided she didn't like drawn swords, so barked ferociously at them.

One of the things that is wonderful about these ceremonies is the precision of the arrangements and of the choreography of the Guards. As is the tradition on these occasions, the guards are addressed by their commanding officer in the language of the visiting Head of State. So the invitation to inspect the Guard of Honour was uttered in the best regimental Polish. It's all part of the British welcome.

The visit took place at an historic time for both Poland and Britain. Last Saturday marked Poland's formal entry into the European Union, along with seven other countries of central and eastern Europe, as well as Cyprus and Malta.

For all the faults of the EU, there is no doubt that the prospect of membership has been a major influence on the development of countries like Poland, and their full emergence as free and democratic countries.

It is still sometimes difficult to believe that only 15 years ago Poland was part of a Communist block controlled by the Soviet Union.

For more than 40 years, the Polish people were pawns in the cruel division of our continent. As a result, they were denied the freedoms and rights we in the West took for granted. Yet the resolve and determination of the Polish people was too strong to be subjugated forever, and we all celebrate their final return to the European mainstream.

Of course, the peoples of our two countries have long been close. All of us owe a great debt of gratitude to the thousands of brave Polish service men and service women who stood with us against Fascism in the Second World War. Whether it was the defence of Britain in 1940 or the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe, the contribution of Polish comrades to our freedoms today cannot be underestimated.

Here in Blackburn there is a long-standing Polish community which has made an important contribution to the prosperity and wellbeing of our town over many years. I know that they have a particular reason to celebrate the expansion of the EU. But all of us will benefit from the prosperity that should come as a result of the increase in the trade between Britain and Poland and the other new EU countries.

As members of the European Union, the ties between our two countries can only get stronger. So, whatever Sadie thought about the swords, the pomp and ceremony of this week was rarely more deserved.