EU summit European negotiations can be ugly and unhappy occasions. At next week's annual European Union summit in Brussels, Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, will be doing everything to avoid that.
The bottom line is that nobody wants a replay of Nice. In December 2000, negotiations for the treaty named after that elegant resort on the French Riviera dragged on for four days and nights, setting a record for the longest and most divisive EU summit ever held.
