But it is behind the scenes in the endless councils, conferences and summits of the EU that Juncker has left his mark.
McEwan also told graduates that they were now standing "on one of life's various summits", warning them not to "be taken in by those who tell you that life is short", because it's "inordinately long".
Beyond Greece and Ukraine, Merkel wants to see progress on a free trade agreement and climate change, two of the staples of these summits.
To achieve this, direct subsidies for the production and consumption of oil, coal and gas must end, as the G20 group of countries with the largest economies have made clear at their last few annual summits.
The long process of overcoming mutual suspicions can be traced through the exchange of position papers, secret talks and hastily relocated summits throughout 1984.
Ali Al-Naimi's statement is striking as Saudi Arabia's wealth and influence is entirely founded on its huge oil wealth and the nation has been one of the strongest voices against climate change action at UN summits.
If Syriza does insist on terms unacceptable to its creditors, the prospect of a "Grexit" – Greece exit from the euro – will once again dominate headlines, summits and markets.
Meanwhile Silvio Berlusconi faces condemnation for his handling of Italy's economic problems when Europe's main Christian Democrat leaders hold their strategy talks ahead of Sunday's two summits, one for all leaders of the EU's 27 member states and another just for the 17 eurozone countries.
He lobbies about it on behalf of Oxfam at G8 summits.
He accompanied me to bag five challenging summits in one day.
On Monday the Guardian carried a story that British intelligence had spied on delegates at two G20 summits, those chaired by Gordon Brown in 2009.
