And in fact there seems to be a direct tie-in between Secretary of State Rice going to Warsaw after having been discussing this at the NATO headquarters here in Brussels.

NPR: U.S., Poland Sign Missile Defense Deal

The agreements reached here in Brussels exceeded expectations.

BBC: Euro: Merkel gives concessions to Italy and Spain

Yet even here, while officials in Brussels express a sign of relief that, in their opinion, the worst of Europe's economic crisis is behind them - the poor are getting poorer.

BBC: Belgians feel bite of austerity

Now here is the interesting challenge for the grey suits in Brussels.

ECONOMIST: European politics