Germany has earned itself a reputation for having a particularly rigid bureaucracy. A recent survey commissioned by the German Embassy in Washington, DC, found that although Americans share a largely positive view of Germans, widespread stereotypes persist of the Germans as a "meticulous" and "rule-abiding" people.

But in the case of the European Union, the rules are sometimes too complicated to comprehend, let alone abide by.

The EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Poland's Danuta Hübner, appears to have recognized this. But like the EU rulebook, her solution is sure to baffle even the most enlightened observer. Hübner wants to introduce a new multi-million-euro program, with the sole purpose of elucidating three other multi-million-euro programs.

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