SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Belgian PM Named as EU President
Nov 19, 2009
Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's prime minister, has become the first president of the European Council.
Van
Rompuy, largely unknown outside his native Belgium, was named after a
consensus was reached at a meeting of the leaders of the 27-member
European Union on Thursday.
"I
did not seek this high position, I didn't make any steps to achieve but
from tonight I take on this task," he told a news conference.
The
meeting also agreed to back the candidacy of Catherine Ashton, the
British EU trade commissioner, for the foreign policy role.
Britain
dropped its bid to to get Tony Blair, the former UK prime
minister, appointed to the presidency earlier in the day after it
became clear that centre-right countries, who dominate the EU, were
determined that the role should go to someone from their group.
"When
it became clear that because of the various political considerations
and varying views among the rest of the members, then the prime
minister made the forceful step of proposing Catherine Ashton for the
high representative's position," a spokesman for Gordon Brown, the
British prime minister, said.
Presidential role
The
debate over the appointments had focused over what role the president
of the European Council should play, with many arguing that the role
should go to a technocrat who can build unity and consensus.
The
Lisbon Treaty which created the new post was vague on its powers and
obligations, saying simply that the president should "drive forward"
the EU's work.
Van Rompuy will serve a two-and-a-half year term, which is renewable once.
Glyn
Ford, a former Labour member of the European parliament, told Al
Jazeera that building a political presence in Europe was one of the
challenges a new president would face.
"Europe is bigger than the United States, its richer than the United
States, it gives more to the developing world than the United States by
far. But we don't actually have the political presence," he said.
"Now how do you develop that political presence?"
'Missed opportunity'
Marco Incerti, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy
Studies, told Al Jazeera that the appointments marked a missed
opportunity for the European Union.
"Because it had been known for some time that Mr Van Rompuy would be
appointed as president of the European Council people were hoping that
for the foreign minister job we would get somebody a bit better known,"
he said.
"There is nothing wrong with Catherine Ashton herself, but she lacks international experience.
"For a post like that of foreign minister of the European Union
having been in a comparable job for some time, having built networks
... could have been useful.
"I think there were many names on the shortlist that fitted the job
description a bit better and I am afraid that this is one more case in
which horse-trading has prevailed. It was matter of giving the position
to a Socialist in turn of the president of the council to the
centre-right."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's prime minister, has become the first president of the European Council.
Van
Rompuy, largely unknown outside his native Belgium, was named after a
consensus was reached at a meeting of the leaders of the 27-member
European Union on Thursday.
"I
did not seek this high position, I didn't make any steps to achieve but
from tonight I take on this task," he told a news conference.
The
meeting also agreed to back the candidacy of Catherine Ashton, the
British EU trade commissioner, for the foreign policy role.
Britain
dropped its bid to to get Tony Blair, the former UK prime
minister, appointed to the presidency earlier in the day after it
became clear that centre-right countries, who dominate the EU, were
determined that the role should go to someone from their group.
"When
it became clear that because of the various political considerations
and varying views among the rest of the members, then the prime
minister made the forceful step of proposing Catherine Ashton for the
high representative's position," a spokesman for Gordon Brown, the
British prime minister, said.
Presidential role
The
debate over the appointments had focused over what role the president
of the European Council should play, with many arguing that the role
should go to a technocrat who can build unity and consensus.
The
Lisbon Treaty which created the new post was vague on its powers and
obligations, saying simply that the president should "drive forward"
the EU's work.
Van Rompuy will serve a two-and-a-half year term, which is renewable once.
Glyn
Ford, a former Labour member of the European parliament, told Al
Jazeera that building a political presence in Europe was one of the
challenges a new president would face.
"Europe is bigger than the United States, its richer than the United
States, it gives more to the developing world than the United States by
far. But we don't actually have the political presence," he said.
"Now how do you develop that political presence?"
'Missed opportunity'
Marco Incerti, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy
Studies, told Al Jazeera that the appointments marked a missed
opportunity for the European Union.
"Because it had been known for some time that Mr Van Rompuy would be
appointed as president of the European Council people were hoping that
for the foreign minister job we would get somebody a bit better known,"
he said.
"There is nothing wrong with Catherine Ashton herself, but she lacks international experience.
"For a post like that of foreign minister of the European Union
having been in a comparable job for some time, having built networks
... could have been useful.
"I think there were many names on the shortlist that fitted the job
description a bit better and I am afraid that this is one more case in
which horse-trading has prevailed. It was matter of giving the position
to a Socialist in turn of the president of the council to the
centre-right."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's prime minister, has become the first president of the European Council.
Van
Rompuy, largely unknown outside his native Belgium, was named after a
consensus was reached at a meeting of the leaders of the 27-member
European Union on Thursday.
"I
did not seek this high position, I didn't make any steps to achieve but
from tonight I take on this task," he told a news conference.
The
meeting also agreed to back the candidacy of Catherine Ashton, the
British EU trade commissioner, for the foreign policy role.
Britain
dropped its bid to to get Tony Blair, the former UK prime
minister, appointed to the presidency earlier in the day after it
became clear that centre-right countries, who dominate the EU, were
determined that the role should go to someone from their group.
"When
it became clear that because of the various political considerations
and varying views among the rest of the members, then the prime
minister made the forceful step of proposing Catherine Ashton for the
high representative's position," a spokesman for Gordon Brown, the
British prime minister, said.
Presidential role
The
debate over the appointments had focused over what role the president
of the European Council should play, with many arguing that the role
should go to a technocrat who can build unity and consensus.
The
Lisbon Treaty which created the new post was vague on its powers and
obligations, saying simply that the president should "drive forward"
the EU's work.
Van Rompuy will serve a two-and-a-half year term, which is renewable once.
Glyn
Ford, a former Labour member of the European parliament, told Al
Jazeera that building a political presence in Europe was one of the
challenges a new president would face.
"Europe is bigger than the United States, its richer than the United
States, it gives more to the developing world than the United States by
far. But we don't actually have the political presence," he said.
"Now how do you develop that political presence?"
'Missed opportunity'
Marco Incerti, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy
Studies, told Al Jazeera that the appointments marked a missed
opportunity for the European Union.
"Because it had been known for some time that Mr Van Rompuy would be
appointed as president of the European Council people were hoping that
for the foreign minister job we would get somebody a bit better known,"
he said.
"There is nothing wrong with Catherine Ashton herself, but she lacks international experience.
"For a post like that of foreign minister of the European Union
having been in a comparable job for some time, having built networks
... could have been useful.
"I think there were many names on the shortlist that fitted the job
description a bit better and I am afraid that this is one more case in
which horse-trading has prevailed. It was matter of giving the position
to a Socialist in turn of the president of the council to the
centre-right."
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.