Quidnunc would love to be a fly in the wall when Charlie McCreevy has breakfast with his tormentor, Pedro Solbes (whom some say he calls Peadar) in the Shelbourne on Monday. The EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Minister has a hard day ahead of him. After breakfast, he heads for Loughrea, where he will be shown by Minister Noel Treacy how they are coping with the euro and then he faces lunch with Mary Harney before he and the Tanaiste address a conference. Despite criticism in Ireland and in some European countries, the EU reprimand has been condemned in the two most influential financial newspapers - The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal. They say Ireland's budgetary strategy is right and the Commission is wrong - and the Government agrees with them. The British are great supporters and even the Italians were on our side. Il Messaggero spoke of how the Irish eagle continued to fly high while the European and Italian ostrich kept its head in the sand.