By President George W. Bush's standards, he leaves Brussels this morning having done his bit.

He initiated the outreach to Europe immediately after re-election, he came to Brussels capping two months of diplomatic re-engagement, he hailed a “strong Europe”, he ladled on the bonhomie with each and every European leader, he trod gently around US concerns on planned European arms sales to China and he was open to the unwelcome possibility of Nato reform floated by Germany and France.