This paper argues that, whilst the Summit of 19-20th October 1972 agreed upon an impressive range of guidelines for action by the European Community, the most detailed of these related to Internal Community policies and institutions. As far as developing countries are concerned, the results of the Summit must be regarded as inconclusive. There appears to be an implicit proposal for a faster rate of growth of imports from developing countries. If realised, this would represent a substantial achievement, but it does not apply to all developing regions. In addition, the problem of reconciling the 'global' and 'regional' approaches to development policy remains unresolved.