In with a whimper...
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Today a state with no government and whose two language groups are at loggerheads takes up the presidency of a confused EU struck by financial crisis. Critics meanly point out that the country won't have to do much to live up to its promotional slogan: "Belgium - Beyond expectations".
Compared with the fireworks and fanfares seen in January when Spain took up the first presidency of the EU Council since the Lisbon Treaty came into force, Belgium does not seem to be pulling out all the stops.
True, the official celebrations do not take place until the weekend, but the Belgians have other things on their minds. Unlike Madrid, with its high hopes and ambitions that were swept away by the deepening financial crisis, officials have even openly said it will be a "modest" presidency.
Talks to form a new Belgian government are dragging on and no result is expected until at least September. The usually tricky negotiations are complicated by the surprisingly strong showing of Flemish separatists in the 13 June elections, which at the time prompted scare stories that the end was nigh for the country itself.
Prime Minister Yves Leterme's caretaker government insists that all the groundwork is in place and the country's domestic political troubles will not affect the EU presidency.
In fact, some argue, a low-key Belgian presidency may be beneficial to the EU. It will allow the leaders created by the Lisbon Treaty - EU president Herman van Rompuy and foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton - room to establish themselves, without having to compete for the spotlight with an ambitious national figure like Spain's Jose Luis Zapatero.
And this would dovetail nicely with one of Belgium's stated aims for its EU presidency - ensuring the reforms set out in the Lisbon Treaty are fully implemented.
