The European Parliament is set to accept a proposal that would dictate the use of the EU flag, anthem and motto for all formal business occasions starting next month. This decision has already been approved by the Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee and is to go before the full house for final approval before the end of the month.

The EU’s flag consists of a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background; its anthem is “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony; and its motto is “United in Diversity.”

None of these symbols were included in the text of the Lisbon Treaty for fear they might cause the treaty to be rejected by upsetting national sensibilities. The absence of these symbols was actually the only notable difference between the failed 2005 version of the EU constitution and the Lisbon Treaty that replaced it.

Now that the Lisbon Treaty ratification process is already well under way, however, the EU Parliament is pressing forward with plans to incorporate these symbols into the official proceedings of the Union anyway. If Lisbon gets passed into law, the bureaucrats in Brussels might just get to have their cake and eat it too.

For more information about the far-reaching changes the Lisbon Treaty would create in Europe, read “Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Lisbon Treaty.”