EUROPEAN UNION ELECTS ITS PRESIDENT AND FOREIGN MINISTER

ArmInfo
2009-11-20 14:27:00

ArmInfo. On November 19, during an informal summit, EU country leaders
elected their first president and foreign minister.

European leaders have decided to give the Belgian Prime Minister
Herman Van Rompuy the Union’s top job, appointing him as the first
permanent president. At an extraordinary summit which took place
On November 19, EU leaders have decided to give the Belgian Prime
Minister Herman Van Rompuy the Union’s top job, appointing him as the
first permanent president and current Trade Commissioner Baroness
Catherine Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs. The
candidacy of Van Rompuy was initially supported by EU leaders – France
and Germany. US President Barack Obama has already congratulated Van
Rompuy and Catherine Ashton on their election.

To note, EU president is elected for 2,5 years and has the right to
be re-elected to this post once again. The new post was created by
the Lisbon treaty, now ratified by all 27 members, which will come
into effect on December 1.

In view of this, the Euobserver site published an interesting
information yesterday, according to which Herman Van Rompuy strongly
opposed to Turkey ever joining the European Union. During the debates
in the Belgian parliament in December, 2004, he said that Turkey is
not and will never be part of Europe.