Northern Ireland's First and Deputy First Minister began a two-day visit to Brussels last night aimed at strengthening the powersharing executive's economic and political relationship with the EU.
At a reception at the Northern Ireland executive office, the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness charmed senior EU officials and ambassadors with their humorous "Chuckle brothers" routine while ensuring to ask Europe for as much additional help and support as it could offer.
"We would be grateful for any help or any suggestions you can make to us because we have a strange government in Northern Ireland, nobody in our government was ever in government before . . . So we are all green as far as I'm concerned, of course I'm not green," joked Mr Paisley, who also praised Irish Ministers for their use of EU funds.
"The South were very wise. They got money they used it very well. They put it into infrastructure. Of course if I got €6 million a day for five years I could do very well too. But the treasury put their big thieving fist on it and we never got it," he said.
Mr Paisley also laughed off the "Chuckle brothers" nickname given to himself and Mr McGuinness by their political opponents in Northern Ireland describing their unlikely double act leading the Northern Ireland executive. "I don't care what they call me," he said.
Both men are scheduled to hold talks with European Commission president José Manuel Barroso later today to discuss ways of helping the North's Executive to better access €1.1 billion in EU funding.
They will also discuss the work of a commission taskforce on Northern Ireland, which was set up in the wake of Mr Barroso's trip to Stormont last May when powersharing government resumed.
The commission has allocated €1.1 billion in funds to the North for its next budget period 2007 to 2013. No new money is expected to be provided by the EU during this period but the taskforce is expected to put forward ideas next month on how to help Northern Ireland bodies to draw down the available money more speedily and efficiently.
It is hoped that Mr Barroso, who is suffering from a severe bout of flu will be able to attend today's meeting.
Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew, Ian Paisley Jnr and Gerry Kelly are also on the trip to Brussels.