Q&A: The EU Laeken summit

As the European Union gears up for its summit in Belgium, BBC News Online looks at the main issues that will be dominating the meeting.

Where and when does it take place?

At a chateau in the Brussels suburb of Laeken on Friday and Saturday, 14 and 15 December.

What is it about?

The big issues of the summit are Europe's efforts to tackle terrorism, its progress towards establishing a joint military force, and, in particular, a new round of EU reforms, which the summit will initiate.

Overshadowing the meeting will be the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January, and the admission of up to 10 new members in 2004.

Will there be violent protests?

Demonstrations are planned for both days of the summit itself and for Thursday, the day before it starts.

However, demonstrations at the last EU summit in Ghent, in October, were largely non-violent - quite unlike those at the Gothenburg summit in June.

Some observers believe that fewer demonstrators are seeking confrontation, following the bloodshed in Genoa this summer, and the US attacks on 11 September.

But the violent protesters were always a minority and may turn up anyway.

Residents on the demonstrators' routes have been told not to leave any loose objects lying around that could be used as missiles, and to park their cars elsewhere.

How have the US attacks affected the EU's priorities?

They have underlined Europe's lack of military clout, and its potential vulnerability to terrorism.

They have therefore provided a new impetus for integration and joint action in the fields of defence and justice, two of the main themes of this summit.

And as the EU starts thinking again about how to shake up its institutions, to enable it to meet future challenges, the focus is on ensuring that member states pull together in order to increase security.

So, will they be pulling together at Laeken?

Perhaps not. Several issues have already provoked pre-summit wobbles.

Among them is the plan for a Europe-wide arrest warrant, which would enable a suspect in one country to be handed over to police in another with a minimum of fuss.

Italy suddenly rejected the proposal last week, only to cave in on Tuesday when Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt went to Rome to talk to Silvio Berlusconi.

Similarly, with a view to declaring the European rapid reaction force "operational", diplomats worked hard to iron out differences with Turkey, which as a frustrated non-member of the EU, resented the idea of the force using Nato assets.

But then Greece objected to the deal that was struck.

Furthermore, small EU states still nurse grievances against the big three - France, Germany and the UK - for excluding them from discussions about the war on terror.

And the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, will have to decide to share a stage with the loquacious Mr Verhofstadt, after refusing to do so in Ghent.

Why do we need to change the way the EU works again?

Last year's Nice summit did just enough to allow the EU to admit new members - for example by setting out decision-making procedures for an enlarged Union - and no more.

The new shake-up is designed to be more far-reaching, to make it more efficient, and to bring it "closer to the people".

The summit will appoint a president to lead a convention of members of parliament, government ministers and others.

After a year or so, the convention will come up with a set of proposals, which will be put to an inter-governmental conference in 2004.

The process will rekindle longstanding disputes between countries that believe Brussels should get more power, and others that believe inter-governmental co-operation is the best way forward.