The president of the European Council under the incumbent of the Lisbon Treaty is Herman Van Rompuy, the now former Belgian Prime Minister and alumni of K.U. Leuven. He is the first President of the European Council who will stay in office for two and a half years replacing the system of six months of rotation.

The Rector of K.U. Leuven congratulated Mr. Van Rompuy and assured him that the doors of K.U.Leuven will always be open to him, “an active alumni” who “has demonstrated more than ever that a thorough academic formation can contribute to the desire and capacity to assume great social responsibilities successfully”.

Mr. Van Rompuy seems surprised with his appointment but is ready to assume his new post. His election is criticized a lot by Eurosceptics as well as Pro-Europeans in matters of leadership and orientation for the European Union. How is he going to cooperate with Mr. Barroso? Is he the best choice? What will his tasks be exactly? Will he raise his voice when necessary?

Some of you may even wonder why there is so much fuss about this President, and why some media refer to him as President of the European Union. Let us first and foremost point out that the European Union does not have a President. There are Presidents of the institutions! Mr. Van Rompuy will be the President of the European Council, a body that has not yet been recognized by the Treaties institution up until now (but worked like one). The famous Lisbon Treaty, which will take into effect on December 2009, certifies the European Council as a European Institution and its President as a permanent post of two and a half years.

Except the Eurosceptics, Belgians are also “in trouble”, as Mr. Van Rompuy was their newly (one year only) elected Prime Minister and was even more so seen as a person of general consensus and unification. He has been characterized as “a consensus-builder” and maybe this is why the Heads of Government of Member Statespicked him unanimously, on the 19th of November 2009.

The backstage negotiations and the reasoning of the choice are well known though and massively discussed by political analysts. The British Prime Minister was in favor and campaigned over months for Mr. Blair, but the opposition of the German Chancellor obliged him to take a step aside and give his consensus for Mr. Van Rompuy. In any case, the other famous position of the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the EU was assigned to Mrs. Ashton, the British and female former Commissioner of Trade. Maybe this is the answer to a lot of people, who expressed their worries for the choices: The current circumstances seek for balance and low profile personalities, who can work undistracted under the given challenges. New people, not yet tested but with potential. The future will prove right or wrong this choice. Mr. Van Rompuy stated after his selection that he will consider everyone’s interests and sensitivities. “Even if our unity remains our strength, our diversity remains our wealth”.

In the dawn of his tenure, we cannot wish him less than lots of good luck with his efforts. He himself is his own enemy, and it is up to him to exercise the possibilities of his post provided by the Treaties. We hope that he will visit K.U. Leuven soon and we cannot wait for a discussion with him.

Small biography of Mr. Van Rompuy:

Born in 1947 in Etterbeek, studied in K.U. Leuven, Bachelor’s degree in Law, Master of Economics, Bachelor of Philosophy. Belgian Flemish politician and member of the Christian democratic party. Prime Minister of Belgium since 30 December 2008. He has four children and also became a grandfather in 2008. |