The Lisbon treaty, remind me ... It will centralise more powers in Brussels and member states will have less of a right to veto EU laws. While it does not create a superstate, the treaty marks another stage in the loss of national importance and control over European decision-making

What new powers does it give to the EU? Besides creating a president and an EU foreign minister, another significant development will be the European External Action Service — already dubbed an EU foreign office. It will have 130 embassies around the world as European Commission offices are upgraded and will gradually take on consular and diplomatic powers. The treaty also gives the EU the legal right to sign international treaties for the first time

So when does Tony Blair become president? The new job of President of the European Council created by the treaty will start as soon as January 1. But it might not be Mr Blair. He is known to want it and has been a front-runner in informal discussions between EU leaders. But the tide seems to have turned against him because smaller countries want a “chairman not a chief”, ie, someone who simply organises their agenda

When is the presidential election? There is no election. The 27 leaders of EU nations will hold a special one-day summit later this month to appoint their president and the new EU high representative for foreign and security policy, known as the foreign minister

So will David Miliband become EU foreign minister as a consolation prize for Britain? There is a lot of support for Mr Miliband to become Europe’s new top diplomat. He has said that he is not available. Some Labour figures fear it would seem like the party is throwing in the towel on the next election if he took it and baled out of Westminster to a comfy berth in Brussels. But it would not necessarily mean the end of his ambitions to return and lead the Labour Party. Just ask Lord Mandelson about comebacks from Brussels

Who will become President of the European Council then? The new front-runner is a Belgian who likes writing haiku verse. Herman Van Rompuy, a Flemish Christian Democrat, has even devoted one of his poems to the subject of his thinning locks. His poem Hair, originally written in Flemish Dutch, reads:

“Hair blows in the wind/ After years there is still wind/ Sadly no more hair.”

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