Who is Herman van Rompuy?

[pandorea]

[EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President.

The other top job created by the Lisbon Treaty - foreign affairs supremo - has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK.

Both are seen as consensual politicians with limited foreign policy experience.

Both had unanimous backing from the 27 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

Earlier, the UK government said it was no longer pushing for former PM Tony Blair to get the presidency post.

Mr Van Rompuy, 62, had crucial French and German support. He has a reputation as a coalition builder, having taken charge of the linguistically divided Belgian government and steered it out of a crisis.

"Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations," he told a news conference after his appointment.

"Even if unity remains our strength, our diversity remains our wealth," he said, stressing the individuality of EU member states.

Baroness Ashton, 53, said she felt "deeply privileged" to get the foreign affairs post.

"I was the first woman British commissioner, the first woman trade commissioner, so I am also proud to be the first woman High Representative," she said.

"I think there was a strong push to have at least one woman in a senior position," she told the BBC later, adding that she hoped Europe would become "an economic superpower".

UK shifts stance

Earlier a UK government spokesman revealed the dramatic twist in the British position.

The UK persuaded the other six leaders in the socialist group to back Baroness Ashton, having dropped Tony Blair.

EU leaders met in Brussels especially to select their first full-time president and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs - new posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which will come into force on 1 December.

The idea under Lisbon is to give the EU more coherence and continuity in key policy areas. Up until now the presidency has been held by member states in turn, on a six-month rotation.

Going into the meeting the leaders had various candidates to choose from.

There were fears that the negotiations would go on late into the night, but it quickly emerged that a deal had been struck.

Drive for consensus

Mr Brown praised Mr Van Rompuy as "a consensus builder" who had "brought a period of political stability to his country after months of uncertainty".

Turning to Baroness Ashton's appointment, he said "it gives Britain a powerful voice within the Council and the [EU] Commission.

"It will ensure that Britain's voice is very loud and clear. It will ensure that Britain remains at the heart of Europe."

Baroness Ashton "is the first woman to hold such a high position in the EU," he added.

Commenting on the choice, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said "it's so important that Britain remains at the heart of the European project".

The foreign policy chief will have a seat as vice-president of the European Commission, as well as a budget worth billions of euros and a new diplomatic service of up to 5,000 people.

For months Mr Blair had been a favourite for president, backed by the UK government, and he was the highest-profile candidate.

Another contender, Dutch PM Jan-Peter Balkenende, ruled himself out of the contest as the meeting got under way.

Seeking balance

The EU leaders had a working dinner together to negotiate the appointments.

They were reported to be striving for a balance in the two posts, with one filled by a candidate from one of the bigger EU states, the other from a smaller country.

Similarly, the presidency was expected to go to a centre-right politician and the post of foreign affairs chief to the centre-left.

The combination of Mr Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton achieves that balance, the BBC's Jonny Dymond says.

Mr Barroso said Mr Van Rompuy's appointment was "a tribute to Belgium", noting Belgium's key role as host of the EU's main institutions.

The EU president will chair regular meetings of the European Council at which decisions are taken about the political position of the bloc.

However, correspondents say the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as the post is officially known, could have an even more powerful role.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8367589.stm

...............

[Stramash]

yet Brown still managed to get his nominee into the more 'powerful' position in the EU 'cabinet'; that of Foreign Minister/High Represenative.

But it's still all b*llocks.

[pandorea]

Job power - van Rompuy VS Obama

Military control:

van Rompuy : No influence on military. EU Military staff receives "taskings" from EU Military Committee (which represents defence chiefs of all member states).

Obama : Commander-in-Chief of armed forces - responsible for strategy. Congress must approve going to war but president can decide when to launch nuclear missiles.

van Rompuy ; Salary reported to be 350,000 euros ($521,374) a year

Obama : President earns 268,521 euros ($400,000) a year

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8363297.stm

[beej]

Job power - van Rompuy VS Obama

Military control:

van Rompuy : No influence on military. EU Military staff receives "taskings" from EU Military Committee (which represents defence chiefs of all member states).

Obama : Commander-in-Chief of armed forces - responsible for strategy. Congress must approve going to war but president can decide when to launch nuclear missiles.

van Rompuy ; Salary reported to be 350,000 euros ($521,374) a year

Obama : President earns 268,521 euros ($400,000) a year

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8363297.stm

After his term as President, he'll get a nice job paying millions a year for his knowledge and inside knowledge. A book deal worth millions and so on, a **** load more pressure though.

[funky_house]

And still, no auditors will sign off the EU's accounts.

[pandorea]

Herman van Rompuy's profile :

The EU's first permanent president, Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy, is a camera-shy man who has been catapulted from relative obscurity.

After his selection at a Brussels summit, he stressed his credentials as a consensus politician and made it clear he would fulfil the role of a chairman rather than a globe-trotting statesman.

His tasks include liaising with EU leaders and arranging the bloc's annual summits. He says tackling climate change and lowering EU unemployment rates are among his priorities.

The centre-right leader has a reputation as a good negotiator with a self-deprecating sense of humour, which helped him to hold together a fractious coalition government at home.

Shortly after his presidential appointment was announced, the 62-year-old drily remarked on previous US complaints about the EU lacking a central go-to figure. "I'm anxiously awaiting the first phone call," he said.

But his appointment may be bad news for Belgium's troubled coalition of Dutch- and French-speaking parties, which could fall apart without his careful stewardship.

In linguistically divided Belgium, he is seen as a unifying force, taking an even-handed approach to resolving conflicts - a skill that is expected to serve him well in Europe's top job.

Focus on federalism : Mr Van Rompuy has pledged to be discreet in his new role. He is little known outside Belgium and has attended only two European summits. With such a limited international reputation, critics say he will struggle to command attention when he travels on behalf of Europe.

But his modest demeanour belies outspoken political beliefs. An avowed federalist, he has called for national symbols within the EU to be replaced by European symbols.

He has also called for a tax on financial transactions within the bloc to fund the EU.

A veteran politician from Belgium's Flemish Christian Democrat party, he has been outspoken in the past in opposition to Turkey joining the EU. He warned it could dilute Europe's Christian heritage.

"Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe," he said as an opposition politician five years ago.

"The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey."

Haiku writer

Mr Van Rompuy was originally reluctant to take on the post of Belgian prime minister at the end of 2008. He replaced Yves Leterme, who resigned amid a financial scandal last December after just nine months in the job.

Riven by post-election squabbling, Belgium had already been through two prime ministers in 12 months and seemed in danger of splitting apart, due to the arguments over devolution plans between the Dutch- and French-speaking parties.

Something of a moderate in Belgium's increasingly polarised politics, Mr Van Rompuy was eventually persuaded to take on the job by Belgian King Albert II.

He was appointed prime minister, having held the position of president of the lower house of parliament since July 2007.

The trained economist inherited a fragile government coalition and a nation facing a global economic crisis that had crippled Belgian banking giant Fortis.

He had previously served as budget minister in the Christian Democrat-led government from 1993 to 1999, during which time he took a tough stance on balancing the books, drastically reducing the country's public debt.

Before that, Mr Van Rompuy was leader of the Flemish Christian Democrats between 1988 and 1993.

He has penned several books - mainly on social and political issues - and is also an avid blogger and haiku writer.

He is said to sometimes compose the 17-syllable Japanese-style poems during political meetings and has been known to read out his compositions at such gatherings.

One offering on Mr Van Rompuy's website is called EU Trio-presidency, but any message therein about his political ambitions is well concealed:

"Three waves roll

Along the harbour

The trio's home."

Read more : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8358504.stm