The once fair but faded city of Bucharest, easternmost capital of the European Union, is bracing itself for an invasion of westerners in April. They are coming to attend the largest summit ever held for Nato, the organisation at the heart of the Atlantic alliance.

For Romania, as the host, the occasion is intended as a great opportunity to celebrate its accession not only to Nato but also to the EU, and underscore its integration into the western world after decades as one of the most oppressed and impoverished communist countries.