The no-tie meetings where EU ministers think ahead

In the complex galaxy of EU gatherings, informal ministers' meetings are an unusual sight.

They only happen twice a year, normally far from Brussels, and they are far less scripted than typical EU talks.

It's a time for male ministers to leave their ties at home, and for participants, including ministers' partners, to be treated to gala dinners and, sometimes, tourist trips.

The format was introduced in 1974 as a sort of seminar to think ahead out of the constraints of the ...