Belgian PM is first 'President of Europe'

[Warped]

woah! this is sorta uncomfortable to read:

Brussels, Belgium (CNN) -- Belgium's prime minister, Herman Van Rompuy, has been appointed the first "president of Europe," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday.

Catherine Ashton of the United Kingdom is to become the EU's foreign minister, Brown said.

The leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union made the decision behind closed doors in Brussels Thursday.

Van Rompuy, a soft-spoken fan of Japanese poetry, beat out contenders including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for a post whose duties are not yet clear.

The Belgian is "well known as a consensus builder," said Brown, who added the selection was unanimous.

Brown had realized earlier that Blair did not have enough support among key decision-makers to snag the new post, a Brown representative told CNN earlier.

The post was created by the European Union's Lisbon Treaty -- which came into force this month, after years of torturous negotiations, as a replacement for the rotating six-month presidency of the bloc.

Although the EU prides itself on being a club of democracies, the process of choosing its new leader was far from transparent or open.

The people of Europe had no say, not even through their parliamentarians.

Blair started as the favorite. He was, according his backers (who at first included President Nicolas Sarkozy of France) just the sort of glamorous figure, recognized the world over, who would win attention for the EU and enable it to exercise its weight in world affairs.

As one Indian official said before the announcement: "If the EU chooses as its worldwide representative the prime minister of Belgium or Luxembourg I am not sure our leaders will have the time to meet him."

But others were soon arguing that, as former U.S. President George W. Bush's leading ally over Iraq, Blair is a divisive figure in Europe. The one man who might have been able to take Britain into the European single currency, he had not even attempted to do so while he was Britain's prime minister.

Public backing from Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, a joke figure to much of Europe and another Bush ally, did not help.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/19/eu.presidency/index.html

does anyone else feel a little unsettled on the idea of one person controlling that much empire??

 

[kupocake]

does anyone else feel a little unsettled on the idea of one person controlling that much empire??

Wait... what? You're an American, a fact that both suggests and precludes irony.

edit: In before British Imperialism. Well after it. You know what I mean.

 

[Eejit]

/facepalm

He controls bugger all.

I was hoping an Irishman/woman would get it anyway.

 

[Shakermaker]

It is a figurehead, like the German or Israeli president. A head of state with no real power. But other than that CNN is right by saying the whole process wasn't very democratic.

Also, this quote kinda surprised me:

Public backing from Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, a joke figure to much of Europe and another Bush ally, did not help.

Not that it isn't true, but you'd expect less opinion and more fact from a news organization.

 

[The Monkey]

The post was created by the European Union's Lisbon Treaty -- which came into force this month,

It comes into effect on December 1, glad to see CNN has such grasp of the basic facts.

 

[Barnz]

 

[<RJMC>]

I dont get this "president of the EU" thing

 

[Acepilotf14]

I don't see much point to this. The EU is collectivist conglomeration of sorts, so having a leader defeats the whole point, no matter how little power he has.

Same deal with the old USSR. Only their leader did have power.

 

[Mr Stabby]

Atleast it's not Tony.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I would have been very disapointed had it been Tony Blair.
The concern I have about the EU presidency is mission creep. It's not uncommon for new legislation and powers to be used in annoying and dubious ways.

Not that the EU president has much power of course. I don't think of him as a leader, although I've never really been into calling our ministers "leaders". They're administrators.

 

[Raziaar]

So what is this?

I imagine this would be like... If you have something that concerns the entire EU, he would make decisions and stuff... though not without much council with the member countries... and in all other affairs it's up to the member countries to decide since they have their own leadership. So like this guy wouldn't be the boss of anything, he would just be a figure head.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I really don't know what the EU president will do from now on. As far as I'm aware, he's just the official representative of the EU. So he'll go to all those diplomatic things that presidents and prime ministers go to, but he won't actually do much policy making. At least, I hope not.


Edit: Oh look, a handy article. I wonder if it really covers everything. The Lisbon treaty is... a big read.

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

 

[Warped]

I really don't know what the EU president will do from now on. As far as I'm aware, he's just the official representative of the EU. So he'll go to all those diplomatic things that presidents and prime ministers go to, but he won't actually do much policy making. At least, I hope not.


Edit: Oh look, a handy article. I wonder if it really covers everything. The Lisbon treaty is... a big read.

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

good point, but its best to watch what their intentions are over time. also 2.5 years is ideal for that position

 

[DEATHMASTER]

There's a president of Europe now? Doesn't seem like it's being taken as seriously as the name implies. Great, now the US and Canada should do the same!

 

[PimpinPenguin]

Gotta love this farce that is the EUSSR.
Just looking at his powers or should a say lack of powers he is just a highly paid figure head. The BBC has a nice comparison comparing the new EU presidents powers to that of the US. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8363297.stm

 

[Eejit]

He's basically just a glorified Ambassador. As such concerns over the lack of direct democracy in his election or his pay are somewhat hypocritical.

 

[Insano]

As President he's supposed to compromise between the different countries concerning all kinds of topics on the European council meetings (PM's and presidents of EU countries). Besides that, there's the possibility of the European Commission and the European Parlement getting a new conflict cfr. Bolkenstein. He doesn't have the powers as an American President, but that's definately not what the EU needs right now. In the near future, however, his powers can be extended.

He's ideal for the position, in my opinion. He knows how to bring different parties to the table and get the best end result for all sides.

 

[15357]

Yay the world is becoming more and more tripartite.


Next up: WWIII.

 

[ríomhaire]

Or 2084.