In the end, it turned out to be an early night for EU leaders as talks did not drag on through the night until breakfast time. The European Council meeting in Brussels on 19 November was quick to deliver a unanimous agreement on the names of the future leaders of the EU. And it preferred to choose consensual, grey and low profile figures, who will try to get the European machinery into gear rather than representing the EU abroad, and who are unlikely to overshadow member states.

The current Belgian and Christian Democrat Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy will be the permanent President of the European Council, the current British and Labour Party EU Commissioner for Trade Catherine Ashton will be the High Representative for Foreign Affairs/Vice President of the European Commission and the current Deputy Secretary General of the Council, Frenchman Pierre de Boissieu, will be the Council’s Secretary General. Although everything was up in the air after two rounds of telephone consultations by the Swedish Presidency of the EU, it was all cleared up following the meeting of European socialist leaders just before the summit.

PERSONAL OPINION SUBORDINATED TO COUNCIL’S OPINION

During their meeting, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown (Labour) argued right up to the last moment that his predecessor, Tony Blair, should be the President. But once it became clear to him that this candidacy was too controversial, he began arguing that his country should have at least one of the two posts. With his Foreign Affairs Minister David Miliband not putting himself forward for the High Representative post for which he had been touted, agreement was reached to put Ashton forward. The idea came out of the blue. The Brits could now drop Blair’s candidacy and, in exchange [for Ashton], accept the candidacy of the Belgian Prime Minister, who was also backed by France and Germany.

After the summit, the two new EU leaders spoke to the press together with the Swedish Prime Minister and current president of the EU, Fredrik Reinfeldt, and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The Belgian Prime Minister, whose name had been circulating for several days, had already prepared a long speech. Recognising that it will be “particularly difficult to abandon” his country, he said that he would take on the post with “conviction and enthusiasm”.

Developing his vision of the role’s profile in detail, Mr Van Rompuy expects “to make sure that our action is developed over time” as his mandate will be for two and a half years (renewable once) but also to “respect the sensitivities of everyone in the European Council”. As he put it, “there will only be a single possible profile: that of dialogue, unity and action”. With regard to his position against Turkey joining the EU, he added that his “personal opinion will be completely subordinated to that of the European Council”.

Basically, Van Rompuy does not want to overshadow the leaders but be their servant, i.e. someone who will try to arrange the European political machinery so that it works as efficiently as possible. Looking at matters this way, his abilities as a negotiator could be useful. He will take up the role on 1 January 2010.

SIGNAL TO THE BRITS

Baronness Catherine Ashton, nicknamed “Cathy” by Barroso, had not prepared a speech and even seemed a bit surprised to be there. But her first words were aimed at the European Parliament because, as a Vice President of the Commission, she will have to attend a hearing there in January. Criticised for her lack of European experience and her lack of diplomatic experience, she sought to defend herself by pointing out that her Chinese and US counterparts had got to know her in her capacity as the EU’s Trade Commissioner for the past year and that this post had enabled her to break complicated deadlocks. She hoped that she could show “tact” and “diplomacy” and asked to be judged on results. Reacting to the nomination, France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy said: “We sent a signal to our British friends to tell them that they are very much in Europe, that we need them. Ms Ashton had the advantage of being a woman, from the labour party and English.” She will take up her post as High Representative once the Lisbon Treaty comes into force on 1 December and will probably be officially named as Commission Vice President in the new Commission in February 2010.

As for the new Secretary General of the Council, he will stay in his post until the summer of 2011 before being replaced by a German, probably Uwe Corsepius, Angela Merkel’s advisor on European issues. Fredrik Reinfeldt was delighted with this sharing out of posts, pointing out that the procedure had been “the most transparent possible”, according to Swedish traditions. Some of the balancing factors had even been respected (men-women, big-small country, right-left). “We were looking for people able to create unity and to bring us together and we have managed that,” concluded the current EU Presidency.

In reality, the EU27 agreed not to name overly strong characters, such as a Blair, a Juncker or a Verhofstadt, as the permanent President. They refused to choose a real President of Europe who might overshadow them. In a sense, the decision may be positive because such a personality would have certainly encroached on the prerogatives of the Commission President and harmed the Community model. Of course, EU leaders have also chosen to put a grey figure at the head of the Commission.

THE COMPLEXITY OF THE EU MACHINERY REMAINS

So one can conclude that the intergovernmental model dominated by heads of state and government is alive and well, even after the Lisbon Treaty. The new treaty does not simplify the situation either, as the rotating presidencies will continue to rotate for the Council meetings and the General Affairs and External Relations Council will be split in two. Here, the General Affairs Council will be chaired by the Prime Minister of the rotating presidency while the External Relations Council will be chaired by the High Representative and the European Council by the permanent President…

Asked by one journalist what number the White House will have to dial to call Europe, there was no reply from Van Rompuy, Reinfeldt, Ashton or Barroso. Then, breaking the silence, Van Rompuy said: “I’m nervously waiting for the first call.”