For its six-month Presidency of the EU, which starts tomorrow, Belgium has chosen a logo that pays tribute to one of the country's most famous sons, the Surrealist painter Rene Magritte. It features a bowler hat, tilted to one side and bearing the 15 stars of the EU alongside the letters ".be", Belgium's Internet domain.
The image's quirkiness is in keeping with Belgium's self-deprecating, ironic, national style. But after last month's summit in Gothenburg, some Belgians fear their Presidency could become associated with a different piece of headgear - a riot helmet.
Security officials are already drawing up plans to ensure that December's EU summit at the royal palace in Laeken should not be marked by pitched battles. Unlike their Swedish counterparts, The Belgian police are expected to take a robust approach to protesters - a strategy that risks making the EU even more unpopular than it is already.
Belgian's prime minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, has been preparing for the Presidency for the past year and his government has already unveiled an ambitious programme.
At Laeken, EU leaders will agree the format for a structured debate on Europe's future that will culminate in a treaty-making summit in 2004. In the wake of Ireland's rejection of the Nice Treaty, some EU leaders fear the ambitious visions that will be discussed could make it more difficult for the Government to win a second referendum.
Mr Verhofstadt's own vision is of a federal Europe, close to the blueprint outlined by Germany's Social Democrats. But opinion elsewhere in the EU is moving towards the concept of a "federation of nation states", proposed in May by the French prime minister, Mr Lionel Jospin.
Belgium's prime minister, Mr Didier Reynders, is determined to use the Presidency to promote the idea of an EU tax that would finance the European Union but would not increase the overall burden of taxation.
Another proposal that is unlikely to find favour in Ireland involves promoting "quality jobs" by setting standards for training, career prospects and worker happiness.
In the fight against crime, Belgium will focus on improving co-operation between law enforcement agencies and justice systems throughout the EU. The Justice Minister, Mr Marc Verwilghen, hopes to find agreement on the forms and powers of Eurojust, a European office of public prosecutors.
The Presidency will also seek to standardise asylum and immigration procedures as a step towards creating a common asylum and security policy.
The Laeken summit is likely to discuss any clarifications or opt-outs the Government wants for Ireland in advance of a second referendum on Nice.
All EU leaders say they want to help the Government to respond to the electorate's concerns. But they have ruled out renegotiating the treaty and some member-states are determined that Ireland should not secure any opt-outs that could undermine the agreement, particularly in the sphere of security policy.