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Gone are the days when Gordon Brown would whisk into Brussels at the last possible moment and leave as soon as he could. He was here bright and early to meet commission president Barroso to discuss the plan to reform the regulation and monitoring of the global economy.

But first they will have to soothe the fears of the New East, particularly the Czechs, that the current plan on the table will leave them behind. They are worried about "capital flight": that people will take money out of their banks to put it in those in the West, which are guaranteed. I have promised myself not to use any cliche containing the word "bouncing", but there is clearly a worry the smaller, if more dynamic, economies of the East may go in a different direction to those big economies of the West.

There's also a concern that the EU may water down its commitment to the free market, with talk of punishing fat cats and .

Tightening global belts will have other knock-on effects. The environment commissioner is suggesting the ambitious , partly to satisfy the Poles.

President Barroso said that the plans were not an aperitif or digestif to be taken when everyone was feeling good, but essential. However, he seemed unaware of his commissioner's interview with the ´óÏó´«Ã½ when I asked him about it. He suggested he would strongly resist any dilution of the plan, saying that it would be a "complete mistake" for Europe to go cold now, because that would send the wrong signals out to the world and make a final deal less likely. He said he would ask the EU's prime ministers and presidents over dinner tonight if they wanted short termism or to show ethical responsibility.

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