Colossal agenda matched by massive disagreement in Brussels
The first main session of the EU summit has just got underway and just before it David Cameron had a quick word with the Greek representative here.
Greece has sent its ceremonial president, Karolos Papoulias to the EU summit because no-one else is fit enough to come.
The 83-year-old one-time volley ball champion looked reasonably rested after his economy class Aegean Airways flight to Brussels.
A year ago he announced he was giving up his salary to show solidarity with Greeks in their hour of need. 
It was, as it happens, a salary close to the $400k that he was giving up – only slightly less than the President of the USA takes home.
What’s changed at this summit is the massiveness of what has been put on the agenda.
The great European project, ever closer union, countries acting as one, economically in spending, tax – THAT huge project for the countries in the eurozone is now on the table.
As you might expect with such a colossal project, division is rampant, timescales talked of are distant.
I’m just back from hanging around outside the pre-summit session of leaders of the centre-right EPP group. Germany’s allies were sounding extremely sceptical about the content of the European Council President’s “roadmap” plan and the pace at which it could be achieved.
The Swedish PM was extremely hostile about the entire idea of closer union and said “we don’t need to take these kind of leaps” and they were out of touch with “ordinary people.” He said David Cameron was “like-minded”- oops.
Maybe he hasn’t kept up with David Cameron’s latest line on the EU – there should be closer union amongst the eurozone countries, fast as you can, just don’t think we’ll ever join in.
Silvio Berlusconi was looking arguably even more orange than the last summit.
One young Spanish reporter shouted at Chancellor Merkel as she turned up: “Not today? Not today for Eurobonds?” Not one facial muscle twitched on the German leader’s face.
Before coming here she got a rousing reception in Berlin for appearing to denounce the calls for debt mutualisation across Europe as “eyewash” and “fake solutions.”
She won’t want to look like she’s spun round moments after that speech. But she will come under pressure tonight to do something more short-term to help Spain in particular cope with the unaffordable price of borrowing on the markets.
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