How come so few people have heard of the favourite candidate to become the first president of the European Union? Possibly because Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium’s Prime Minister, likes to compose haiku, the Japanese poetry form made famous by the Zen Buddhist monk, Basho, in the 17th century. And when you make major policy announcements in snatches of elliptical verse, naturally it’s easy for some of them to get overlooked.

But the bonuses of working this way are so appealing that whether Mr Van Rompuy gets the job, or it goes to someone else, we should demand that all future EU directives be issued as haiku. That way they’ll be short enough to read briskly; and being so brief they’ll save in translation costs when rendered into the EU’s 23 official languages.

How will it work? Here are some examples to give the EU president an idea of what to aim for:

— If the CAP fits, Wear it.

Just send us the bill.

— The sound of a cricket Ball will soon be banned.

Even with a UK opt-out.

— EMU is a flightless bird.

Also a currency system that has taken wing.

Sort of.

— Many think the EU is bananas, But not in a bent way.

Because that wouldn’t be permitted — We belong to a common market.

But not “common” meaning “cheap”.

Because it certainly isn’t that.

Being elliptical, some of the EU’s new haiku may seem impenetrable. But then again, no more impenetrable than EU directives already are now.