There was a familiar sight greeting EU fisheries ministers as they trudged into the monolithic Justus Lipsius building for the latest end-of-year talks.
A Greenpeace protest about the dangers of over-fishing the world’s oceans is now a traditional part of proceedings which have been described over the years as a bun fight, a circus and – by Scottish Fishing Secretary Richard Lochhead – an annual test of endurance.
It is much the same story every December, despite efforts to avoid a pre-Christmas rush and invariably involves all-night horse-trading over catch limits in the rather ugly but functional heart of EU governance.
Ministers will start today’s discussions confident it can all be wrapped up in time for bedtime or even dinner, but in all probability it will be an all-night affair.
There was one big difference in Brussels yesterday though – the absence of any buses circling the Schumann roundabout in this sprawling city was a hint that all is not well in the land of chocolate, waffles and smurfs.
Belgium was paralysed by a general strike called by the country’s trade unions as they battle with the government over reforms aimed at eliminating the country’s budget deficit by 2018.
The buses were not running and neither were the trains, trams and Brussels’ underground system. Belgium’s airspace was closed, as to my horror was the cafe in the Justus Lipsius press centre.
Fish-shaped cookies from the Greenpeace campaigners helped to fill the gap.