They can start with “Ode to Joy” and end it with “Play Ball”

Guess what only took them 16 months:

Parliament sets up economic crisis committee

While speculation on future high-profile jobs continued apace on Wednesday (7 October), parts of the EU institutions attempted to concentrate on the job in hand – namely the tackling of the economic crisis.

And that crisis was committeed just in time.

Not to be outdone, the commission issued its Annual Report on the Euro Area 2009 also on Wednesday.

The document says "signs of economic stabilisation are emerging", but warns that "the strength and resilience of the recovery has yet to be fully tested".

Tackle away. Tackle away. In the mean time, we’ll be trying to figure out who it was you weren’t being outdone by. Another EU in a parallel universe, perhaps?

You might want to pass a law making deflation unlawful or something... that should take care of it in time for the cocktail hour.