The Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, was selected as the first ever President of the European Council, the media-mooted ‘President of Europe’. After weeks of rumours and speculation, particularly since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty earlier this month, it took surprisingly little time for Europe’s leaders to announce the winner, after Britain’s Tony Blair pulled his name out of the running just hours beforehand.
The news was not particularly thrilling: Van Rompuy was seen as the front-runner for days before the announcement. What is perhaps surprising is the appointment of Baroness Catherine Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The title is a mouthful in itself, but is a very important role, and is actually considered by many as more powerful than the President.
It is perhaps fitting that it was Van Rompuy who was awarded the post of President. A widely respected but realistically small-time politician with little charisma or foreign policy experience, he ticks all the politics for the kind of President that many countries, including Germany and France, have been pushing for. They see the President as a smaller, pragmatic role whose primary concern will be facilitating communication and collaboration within the High Council. Many observers in the political community have speculated that it is because of this that Blair, who wanted a more influential role, pulled out of the running.
That’s fair enough. Blair would be wasted in a role that is essentially symbolic and will have little actual power; perfect for a Belgian. The President of the High Council is not the role that the title suggests. It is nothing like the President of the United States, or even close. Far from it, it is an empty post that will be mired in low-key bureaucracy and petty management of the grey-suited Brussels elite. The idea of a President of Europe is neither a good idea nor a likely reality, even in the far future; there is far too great a gulf between the smaller and larger nations for such a role to be plausible. The President will be a mediator, someone to deal with the differences between the smaller and larger nations around points of contention. The upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen next month could be a proving ground for this role. But to be honest, it’s unlikely.
No, in reality I doubt that we will actually see the impact of the President’s role. He is a gesture; a media symbol to provide sound bites at conferences and little else. Any important decisions will be made independently by Heads of States, so his role will be effectively neutered come crunch time. It needs a boring, pragmatic pencil pusher who will sit on the sidelines and get things done. Belgium’s Van Rompuy is perfect, then.
What is far more interesting is Baroness Ashton’s new role. The High Representative for Foreign Affairs could be an important role: she will have a multi-billion Euro budget and the command of five thousand staff. Still though, her role will involve managing across a variety of departments that have conflicting interests and incredibly complex structures. It will be an important role and a strong voice in the international political community.
This does raise some interesting thoughts. Is it a coincidence that Gordon Brown, who vocally backed Blair (despite Blair never actually declaring intention to run for the Presidency) has now managed to obtain a Briton in this key role? Is it a coincidence that Blair, the most high-profile and controversial candidate, pulled out hours beforehand and yet the High Representative role was awarded to a British politician? It does point to some interesting political posturing by Brown, perhaps to maintain a strong British presence in the European Parliament ahead of a General Election against a Euro-sceptic Tory party.
A British politician in this powerful role keeps Britain at the heart of European politics and cements Britain another big (if only in title) role on the world stage. However, the nature of the role does point to a larger issue. This game-playing by British politicians is perhaps symbolic of a Britain – and, more widely, an EU – determined to retain an importance on a world stage that is now seen as more economically and politically dominated by the US and China. Having a ‘President’ and a pseudo-Foreign Secretary is a ploy that will make the EU Parliament seem, at least to outside observers, to have a more streamlined, state-like structure.
You can’t really blame them. After all, they read the papers like the rest of us. The idea of a European Obama at the spearhead of an effective, decisive European Union is a noble dream. But that is all it is, a dream, and that is how it will remain. At the end of the day, the European Union is nowadays too diverse, too complicated, and too politically divided to ever become a truly effective governing body.
Still, let’s give a little congratulations to Mr Rompuy: after all, he is the President. A President decided around a dinner table by other politicians, acting on a Lisbon Treaty that was passed against the will of all that voted on it, with effectively no power to wield anyway.
