Dare we say it? Are they actually making progress this time? Could we see a final treaty come March, which will bind all of Europe’s governments to stop spending more than we generate?

When this newspaper takes this tone about the EU, it is not because we are sceptics. Far from it. We believe that joining the EU was one of the best things Malta ever did. We also believe that it has caused an improvement in our quality of life. We also believe that transparency and accountability have both improved, even if we do still have some way to go. We have benefited from investment, funding and political protection within a larger bloc of countries. We believe that Malta is where it should be, in that respect.

But the last three years have seen more dithering by leaders than the bloc has ever experienced before. It has almost come down to a battle of egos. First we had random upstart leaders who would occasionally hijack the show behind the scenes. Then we saw Papandreou taking the stage and taking some very odd political decisions, playing two games with one hand of cards; one in Brussels and one in Athens. Then we saw Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy bang heads together and barely speak during photo shoots. Then they made up, and joined forces in what was dubbed the great Merkozy but they have now gone off the boil again. Then we had good old Silvio almost bringing Italy to its knees with his stubborn refusal to go, when the markets (today’s real shot callers) refused to have confidence in his leadership. After Berlusconi left, we saw a very brazen David Cameron take on Merkozy with much pomp, yet futility. And then yesterday happened. Each and every EU leader was apparently cordial and very willing to find a solution.

Even Cameron and Sarkozy had a half hug. What could the world be coming to? 20 and 30 years ago, politicians were of a different breed. Those old enough to remember the 1970s and 1980s political and economic situation in Europe know differently. The situation was dire, yet there was none of the theatrics that come with today’s EU negotiations and meetings. When one gets a proper feeling of what is there, you can actually see it all over their faces, they often have silent tantrums. And this is the point we are getting to. Europe has had a tough time. We have taken a battering over the last three years. It must have also been a hard time for all of our countries’ leaders and governments. In fact it must have been bloody awful, the hardest time to administer a country in modern history. But lessons seem to have been learned. Instead of hysteria round the table, the leaders have calmly found a way to agree to disagree and remain somewhat united. As our Prime Minister put it, austerity alone will not work – provided we are to return to the model we regard as modern Capitalism (and yes, that’s what almost took us down, but that is another argument).

The world is not yet ready to drastically redefine what is sustainable and what is not, so we will return to that system and try and make it a much healthier and safer one than it was before. In the meantime, Europe must now act. The treaty must be signed and implemented; sooner rather than later. The markets cannot be allowed to have one single jitter.