EU elects ‘grey mouse’ president

David Sapsted, Foreign Correspondent

• Last Updated: November 20. 2009 11:29PM UAE / November 20. 2009 7:29PM GMT

LONDON // European leaders have elected the continent’s first president, opting for the “grey mouse” rather than “Bambi” after months of infighting.

Herman Van Rompuy, the virtually unknown Belgian prime minister, got the nod over Tony Blair, who had been a favourite for the post for months, when the leaders of the 27 European Union nations sat down to dinner in Brussels on Thursday night.

The dinner had expected to last through the night – the organisers had even laid on plans for breakfast to be served yesterday – but, in the event, it was done and dusted by the time dessert was served.

His appointment, however, is causing unease among Muslim nations, not least Turkey, which wants to be admitted to the EU and has the backing of the UK, Sweden and eastern European nations but is opposed by Germany, France and Austria.

Mr Van Rompuy, 62, who has been dubbed the grey mouse because of his colourless, rather introspective personality, had become a favourite for the job among the small, Benelux countries who wanted an administrator, rather than a major figure, to preside over the European Council.

Then, earlier in the week, both Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who had previously backed “Bambi” Blair’s candidacy, came out in the Belgian’s favour.

“When that happened, a lot of horse trading went on,” said a senior diplomat yesterday. “Britain, Spain and Italy wanted Blair because they wanted an international statesman capable to straddling the world stage.

“This seems to have frightened the Germans and, eventually, the French. They want President Obama to continue phoning them, not Tony Blair.”

Minutes before the dinner, Downing Street announced Britain was withdrawing its support for Mr Blair. Instead, it announced that it was backing the appointment of Lady (Cathy) Ashton, Britain’s trade commissioner to the EU, for the post of high representative – effectively, Europe’s foreign minister and, along with a permanent president, another post created under the Lisbon Treaty.

A few hours later, after a debate over dinner that the Poles had already described as “a stitch-up” among the big nations of Europe, Lady Ashton, 53, who is scarcely known inside her own country, let alone outside it, was duly named as the first high representative.

“We’ve got the appointment of two political pygmies,” fumed Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party, which campaigns for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. “In terms of a global voice, the European Union will now be much derided by the rest of the world.”

But Lord (Neil) Kinnock, the former Labour leader and ex-EU commissioner, said: “What they have gone for is high-quality, functional effectiveness, not flamboyance, and I think that that’s reassuring to some people.”

Mr Van Rompuy, who likes to write haiku poetry in Dutch, takes holidays in a caravan and regularly goes on retreat to Roman Catholic monasteries has been on an incredible journey over the past year.

He became, somewhat reluctantly, Belgium’s prime minister in December and has proved himself a dexterous operator at achieving compromise among the rival French- and Flemmish-speaking halves of his country. Mr Van Rompuy, a dedicated European federalist, sees his main task as president of the European Council as “discreetly” achieving consensus among the EU’s 27 leaders, rather than becoming the face of Europe on the world stage.

However, some of his comments have caused concern among Muslim nations. Five years ago, he told the Belgian parliament: “Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe. The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigour with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey.”

Onur Oymen, a member of the Turkish parliament, told the BBC yesterday he was concerned about what Mr Van Rompuy’s presidency could mean for Turkey’s aspirations to join the EU. “We are not very optimistic about the future of our relations during his presidency.”

The Americans, at least, made the right noises about the appointments, with President Barack Obama saying they would “strengthen the EU and enable it to be an even stronger partner to the United States”.

dsapsted@thenational.ae