A wonderful article here by Paul Reynolds, World affairs correspondent of the BBC on Gordon Brown being the first European leader to meet President Obama. The UK cherishes the “special relationship” with the US, and UK conservative politicians often point to it as an alternative to involvement in the EU. However, as though Reynolds says “when it comes to substance, Britain counts for a good deal less than some other players – notably the EU as a whole, in which Germany above all has the key role”.
The Articel goes on to outline some of the differences of opinion on future financial regulation that will be discussed by the G20. The Czech Prime-minister (as head of the Czech Presidency of the EU) is quoted as saying “If I put it very tenderly, the divergence in opinions was rather big.” So the compromise I reported had been reached by the EU on for the G20 talks on global financial regulation may not be that secure.