The bonhomie is back. President George W. Bush's meetings with European leaders on his first full day in Brussels were, according to US administration officials, more than ever accentuating the positive, full of friendly conversation.

Certainly the brusque Mr Bush of his first term seemed to have been left behind, as the US president allowed his meetings to run well over schedule. Instead of half an hour with Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian prime minister, he spent nearly an hour; dinner with French President Jacques Chirac lasted nearly double the allotted time.