Italian prime minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi is to return to the European Parliament tomorrow three months after he ruined the debut of Rome's EU presidency with a Nazi jibe at a German lawmaker.
During his premiere in July, the businessman-turned-politician lost his cool in reacting to critics and compared a particularly outspoken German MEP to a Nazi concentration camp guard.
Mr Berlusconi made world headlines by saying Germanparliamentarian Mr Martin Schulz, a long-standing critic of the media magnate, would be perfect for the movie role of a "kapo", a word used to describe guards in German concentration camps.
The incident sparked anger in Germany, prompting Mr Schroeder to demand an official apology.
After a week-long political mini-crisis, involving German Chancellor Mr Gerhard Schroeder and European Parliament president Mr Pat Cox, the Italian prime minister eventually made a semi-apology.
This time, both sides are promising to be on their bestbehaviour, with parliamentarians saying any criticism will be targeted solely at the work of the Italian presidency and not at Mr Berlusconi personally.
"We should be most civilised and show the courtesy owed to the president of the European Union Council," said Mr Enrique Baron Crespo, the leader of the European Socialists.
"If anyone raises his voice I will try to calm him down.Let's hope the Council does the same," he told reporters.
Mr Berlusconi is due to report to the EU assembly on theresults of last week's inconclusive EU summit, which saw few concrete decisions apart from appointing Frenchman Mr Jean-Claudeb Trichet as the new European Central Bank president.