With most officials in Brussels enjoying summer retreats, Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht has grabbed headlines by announcing an "amicable solution" for the probe over China's solar panel exports to Europe.

With unusual and friendly wording, De Gucht, who in the past has tried to lecture China over "game rules", has peacefully ended the one-year bout, which is related to more than 400,000 Chinese jobs and 250,000 European jobs.

I clearly remember a big Reuters story in early September 2012 saying that Brussels would start an anti-dumping investigation over China's solar panel exports. That report started the long-running coverage of the pros and cons of the multi-billion-dollar trade probe.