There is an organised Brussels cabal trying to sell the idea that Van Rompuy’s presidential vicory is a “done deal”. There is another school that says that this debate and decision is still likely to go on - and on - and on!
That would take care of all their weekends and only one dinner planned! - Personally I'd prefer Blair if only that we wouldn't have to be polite to him while rubbishing him.
Christina
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THE TIMES -Leader 17.11.09
A Flawed Candidate
Herman Van Rompuy may become president of the European Council for purely negative reasons. An effective diplomat needs a stronger record of achievement
There is a hoary parlour game that dwells on the supposed paucity of famous Belgians. It thereby retails a falsehood as well as a cliché. Since its founding in 1830, Belgium has produced notable figures in diplomacy, culture and other fields. Its statesmen, moreover, are experienced in dealing with one of the dominant issues of global politics: maintaining the unity of a society riven by communal and linguistic rivalries.
A Belgian prime minister ought thus to be well equipped to become president of the European Council, representing the 27 EU member states. But Herman Van Rompuy, who has quickly emerged as the favourite for the job, gives scant sign of being suitable for it. His qualifications are obscure beyond having the support of President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel. His anonymity is such that the disinterested observer even becomes enthusiastic for the alternative candidature of Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch Prime Minister. EU leaders should think again and choose Mr Balkenende.
The problem is that there is no precedent for a president. The post has been created under the Treaty of Lisbon, but the treaty is vague on the president’s responsibilities. In any new role, the personality of the officeholder will determine the profile of the office. This is a post, moreover, that has been created by a treaty that few European citizens have voted for. Owing to that lack of democratic legitimacy, the president of the European Council ought to be an effective chairman and figurehead rather than a policymaker.
That is the appeal of Mr Van Rompuy. He will not overshadow the political leaders of the main EU states. But his record contains little to suggest any more pressing attribute. He does not excite strong feelings and is largely unrecognised outside Belgium. If the EU is to have an administrative more than an executive president, then some visible accomplishment in the arts of diplomacy would inspire confidence.
Yet Mr Van Rompuy lacks that experience. His attainments are geared to the politics of Belgium. A member of the centre-right Christian Democrats, Mr Van Rompuy exemplifies the principle of moderate conservatism. Nowhere is this more evident than in his approach to fiscal policy. He served as a quietly efficient Economics Minister in the 1990s, cutting the budget deficit and thereby securing Belgium’s position as a member of the euro zone.
In his 11 months as Prime Minister, Mr Van Rompuy has held together a five-party governing coalition. In a country whose politics are bedevilled by tensions between the predominantly French-speaking Walloons and Flemish-speaking Flamands, that record evinces Mr Van Rompuy’s skills as a mediator. He became Prime Minister, amid political instability: his predecessor, embroiled in a scandal over a bank rescue, resigned after nine months. Mr Van Rompuy has given solidity to a fragile Government.
This is not a negligible record, but it is a parochial one. Even an international civil servant — say, Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees — is aided by an international reputation. Mr Van Rompuy lacks one.
Mr Van Rompuy has proposed new environmental and financial taxes to fund the EU. That would cut across the principle that national governments retain control of fiscal policy. And as serious as the demerits of Mr Van Rompuy’s proposals was the venue at which he reportedly advanced them: a dinner held under the auspices of the Bilderberg group. That organisation is a perennial target of crank conspiracy theorists, whose views are ridiculous. But it is significant that Mr Van Rompuy made an important proposal at a private rather than a public forum. It is a bad augury for a flawed candidature.
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DAILY EXPRESS 17.11.09
EU THREAT TO THE UNION JACK AND NATIONAL ANTHEM
Is the EU putting an end to the British identity?
By Macer Hall
THE favourite to become President of the European Union is determined to replace Britain’s Union Flag and national anthem with “European symbols”.
Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy believes separate national emblems should be scrapped in a drive to create a new Euro identity.
He also supports a huge extension of EU influence over town halls, schools and sports, and he wants “green taxes” to be imposed across all 27 member nations.
Details of his staunch Euro federalist views emerged yesterday as Brussels sources confirmed he is almost certain to be installed as EU President on Thursday.
But opponents warned that his appointment is certain to bring a fresh wave of unacceptable interference in Britain’s affairs.
Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “Any attempt to move the EU further towards a federal state would be unacceptable.
“The British people never had a chance to give their view on whether the job of president should exist at all.”
Tory MP Douglas Carswell, a leading Eurosceptic, said: “It is pretty shocking that there is a chance that the EU is about to be led by a man who wants to erase symbols of national identity.
“This shows that the European superstate has arrived. If we are serious about doing something about this threat, we should stop complaining and starting holding a referendum on Britain’s future relationship with the EU.”
Mr Van Rompuy, 62, has overtaken Tony Blair as the favourite for the presidency, which was created under the Lisbon Treaty.European leaders will name the winner in Brussels.
Many see Mr Van Rompuy as a less divisive and flashy figure than Mr Blair – someone who will not overshadow leaders such as France’s Nicolas Sarkozy or Germany’s Angela Merkel.
But critics are horrified at Mr Van Rompuy’s fanatically pro-federalist views. He said he favoured the Lisbon Treaty as long as it promoted the aim of “more Europe”. He also helped to draw up a federalist manifesto for his Flemish Christian Democrat Party, calling for more EU power.
It said: “Apart from the euro, other national symbols need to be replaced by European symbols – licence plates, identity cards, presence of more EU flags, one-time EU sports events.”
Speaking at a private dinner organised by EU federalists at the Chateau de Val-Duchesse, where the EU’s founding Treaty of Rome was negotiated in 1957, Mr Van Rompuy also backed plans for “green taxes” to fund the EU.
He said: “The possibilities of financial levies at European level must be seriously examined, and for the first time large countries in the union are open to that.”
But Mr Hague said: “Britain would not be the only country that would find a proposal to give the EU tax-raising powers totally unacceptable. Advocacy of such a policy is not a fruitful use of anyone’s time.”
Pieter Van Cleppe, of the think- tank Open Europe, said: “Van Rompuy is your typical EU federalist. He isn’t going to step on anyone’s toes or try to dominate the world like Tony Blair or President Sarkozy might have.
“But he can be relied upon to quietly make sure that the EU gets more and more powers, with less and less say for voters.”
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