EUROPEAN UNION: First President Chosen

On Thursday, 19 November, the 27 EU leaders meeting at the summit in Brussels unanimously voted on the new EU President and Foreign Policy Minister. The European Council, which has been made an official institution by the Lisbon Treaty, chose Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, as the first EU President, and the current EU trade commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton, as the first EU Foreign Policy Minister. The two positions, which were created by the Lisbon Treaty, are two-and-a-half year terms, of which the appointees can be reelected once. While the specific role of the EU President has yet to be determined, he will chair future EU summits and serve as the representative for the EU in the international community.

Comments

[European Analyst]

What offers some additional confusion about this rather odd decision, is the response it got from the different medias. Spiegel.de labeled the pair "Who" for President, and "I don't know" for Foreign Minister, which only reiterates the feeling of most of the international community. Only time will tell whether the decision was meant to better the EU, or simply a power-play by Europe's leaders.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,662516,00.html