Mr Cameron has grandly declared that Britain would not allow Brussels first sight of the budget and that proposed hefty sanctions against countries breaching deficit and debt limits set by the EU must apply only to the single currency member states.
But don't hold your breath, because he is relying on six flimsy words of the summit statement - "taking account of national budgetary procedures" - to get him off the hook.
I am quite sure that, not just in his heart of hearts but even in private with his advisers, he has already acknowledged that when the next stage of the sovereign debt crisis hits, Britain will be called on to reach into its pockets.
And it will have no choice, because in truth EU integration has already gone that far - and British banks will be among the losers if a country defaults.
From my knowledge of the EU bureaucracy I have little hope that Britain will be spare from this demeaning procedure.
The 'referendum lock' will be another Cameron promise that will be filed under 'cast-iron'.
