European leaders attending a summit in Brussels on Thursday named Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy as the first permanent president of the European Commission, a post created by the recently adopted Lisbon Treaty.
Even before the eventual outcome, Rompuy was widely tipped to become the first European Commission President as he had the crucial French and German support. Van Rompuy,a poetry-writing economist, was not well-known outside before he became the Prime Minister of Belgium in a coalition government involving five parties in January.
Van Rompuy took over the premiership of Belgium after the previous government under Yves Leterme resigned on December 19 over allegations of political interference in a court case linked to the break-up and sale of the struggling Fortis bank.
The new coalition government was formed after the five parties that participated in the previous government reached an agreement on the formation of a new coalition government.
Consequent to his formation of a coalition government, Van Rompuy became quite famous as a coalition builder who steered the linguistically divided Belgian government out of a crisis. His selection to the top EU post is widely seen as a reflection of EU leaders' choice for a president who could not possibly overshadow national leaders.
Also on Thursday, Britain's European Trade Commissioner was made the 27-member European bloc's High Representative for Foreign Affairs. Baroness Ashton has been the EU's trade commissioner since last year and replaces Spaniard Javier Solana as EU's new foreign policy chief.
Baroness Ashton, who also is not a well-known political figure, had served in several low-key ministerial posts for eight years before being chosen to replace Lord Mandelson as EU Trade Commissioner in 2008.
Her candidacy came as a surprise to many when British Prime Minister Gordon Brown backed her for the post after accepting that his predecessor Tony Blair could not become the European Council president. Earlier, Brown had backed Blair for the top EU post.
Brown on Thursday described Van Rompuy as "a consensus builder" who had "brought a period of political stability to his country after months of uncertainty," and welcomed his selection to the top EU post.
"I am particularly pleased that a Briton secured the other position. 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," Brown added.
Though the two posts were originally intended to give the European Union a strong and unified voice in global affairs and bolster the bloc's influence overseas, the selection of the two low-profile politicians to the posts possibly indicate the reflectance of European leaders to transfer too much power to Brussels.
The two posts were created by the Lisbon Treaty, which had to be ratified by all EU member-states before adoption. The Treaty is aimed at streamlining the functioning of the European Union and provides several reforms for simplifying decision-making mechanism at the EU. In addition, it called for a long-term president for the European Council instead of the previous six-month rotation system.
The Czech Republic was the last EU-member state to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. The process was delayed after Czech President Vaclav Klaus insisted the European Union provide solid guarantees related to property rights in the Czech Republic before he signed the treatise.
Klaus wanted a UK-style opt-out from EU's planned Charter of Fundamental Rights for his country. His demand was prompted by apprehensions that signing the treaty might give ethnic Germans, who were expelled after World War II, the right to reclaim their land in the Czech Republic.
Klaus agreed to sign the Lisbon Treaty only after EU leaders granted the concessions he demanded in exchange for his country's ratification of the reforms treaty.
Earlier, Ireland had approved the treaty in a second referendum after the EU leaders promised that approval would not force Ireland to legalize abortion or to lose control over taxation, and not have its neutrality diluted. The Irish voters had rejected the treaty in an earlier referendum in June 2008.
Before Ireland's approval of the treaty in a second referendum, Poland had also refrained from ratifying the treaty, but President Lech Kaczynski signed it last month after his country also received the opt-out option from EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.