By George Parker in London and Chris Giles in Davos and Peter Spiegel in Brussels

David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy have not spoken since the stormy night in Brussels last month when the British prime minister blocked a new EU treaty to enforce eurozone fiscal discipline and the French president called him ?an obstinate kid?. Little since then has changed to improve relations.

The two leaders will be back in Brussels on Monday with diplomats on both sides braced for more of the same, not least after Mr Cameron?s outspoken speech in Davos this week, in which he attacked the eurozone?s leadership and observed that the single currency was built on very shaky foundations.

In the intervening weeks of cross-channel froideur, France?s credit rating has been downgraded – to some rejoicing in the British media – in spite of suggestions by leading French politicians that the agencies should instead be focusing their attention on Britain?s public finances. One senior EU official called the spat ?petty, stupid nationalism?.

?We had better get used to it,? said one British diplomat. ?We are going to be the whipping boys for French politicians between now and the presidential elections.?

Meanwhile Mr Cameron?s suggestion in Davos that some unnamed eurozone countries – i.e. Germany – should cut their trade surpluses and do more to resolve the crisis has gone down badly in Berlin, even if officials concede the British premier was targeting a domestic audience.

Quizzed by a member of the audience at the Swiss ski resort on why Germany and other big countries were bypassing proper governance procedures in making new rules for the eurozone, Wolfgang Sch?uble, German finance minister, said: ?I would like to give you the mobile number of David Cameron. That?s not a joke,? he said.

In spite of the tensions and testy public rhetoric, there are some grounds to believe that the substance of Monday?s EU summit may offer Mr Cameron a chance to rebuild some bridges.

The official agenda focuses on the need to bolster Europe?s growth potential and to deepen the single market, both areas in which Britain has a significant voice and key allies including Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and – significantly – Germany.

Furthermore, Mr Cameron has abandoned some of the combative language he adopted after last month?s summit. For example, he has dropped his demand that signatories to the new eurozone fiscal compact – agreed outside the EU framework – should not be able to use official EU buildings.

Quietly, Britain has been brought back into the fold. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, insisted the UK be given observer status in the drafting of the new treaty. With little fanfare, Mr Cameron is no longer resisting the use of the European Court of Justice to enforce the new eurozone treaty.

Meanwhile, Germany and the European Commission have ensured the new treaty is narrowly focused on fiscal discipline and does not provide France with a means of sidelining Britain in discussions on the single market.

?My hope is that there will be no confrontation like the one we had at the last European Council,? said the official. ?It is in our interest in having British committing, and I hope the British prime minister understands that. It would be self-defeating if there was this kind of separation.?

Privately Mr Cameron says relations with Mr Sarkozy remain positive. The two leaders will hold a summit on military cooperation next month and there is another factor: Mr Cameron would rather work with Mr Sarkozy than his socialist presidential rival, Francois Hollande, whose distaste for British-style financial capitalism is even more pronounced.

Additional reporting by Quentin Peel in Berlin

? The Financial Times Limited 2012