The Nice declaration hinted that some functions could be taken from Brussels and returned to national, or even regional governments.

BBC: Big changes ahead for EU

In Brussels, government spokesman Alain Gerlache announced that a high-ranking panel of advisers will help the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, to draw up a Laeken Declaration at the planned EU summit in Laeken, near Brussels, in December.

BBC: Belgium's EU agenda

The thinking in Brussels, I am told, is that it should be possible to meet his demands with a legally binding declaration or summit conclusions from the assembled heads of government, stating that nothing in the Lisbon treaty or the Charter of Fundamental Rights changes the historical settlements on property claims by the descendants of expelled Germans.

ECONOMIST: European politics