What?

My previous post on the new President of the EU, "Who?" didn't get to the question of what.

With the new President, Herman Van Rompuy, we have someone who seems to be a riddle of contradictions, right out of the chute.  The new President takes office on 1 January 2010 and will serve a full 30 month term, rather than being slotted into the former six month rotation.  The official title will be President of the European Council.

Here is an extract from an article in Al Jazeera on the new President, Belgian Prime Minister Van Rompuy:

The appointment of Van Rompuy, who has previously said that he viewed the EU as a Christian club with no room for Turkey and its mainly Muslim population has raised concern from the country.

Onur Oymen, a Turkish MP, his country was "not very optimistic about the future of our relations during his presidency".

While that attitude may sit well with some of the EU nations, it is not likely to sit well with the many gastarbeiter (guest workers) in Europe or ease relations with neighbors across the Mediterranean.

Then we have Australian newsman Andrew Bolt's blog, with this little snippet from Mr Van Rompuy's acceptance speech:

Sure, this talk of the warmists at Copenhagen planning a new “world government” is crazy. I just wish the warmists wouldn’t talk of it themselves. Take the new and first president of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy:

The Climate Conference in Copenhagen is another step forward towards the global management of our planet…

OK, so maybe that isn't exactly what Mr Van Rompuy meant, but then again, it might be exactly what he meant.

One wonders how much power this new EU President will have.  Will he be a creature of the Bureaucrats in Brussels?  Will he be someone extracting consensus out of the leadership of the different EU nations?  Will he be someone who strikes out on his own to lead the EU into the land flowing with milk and honey?  If we go to Wikipedia we are told there are no formal duties specified in the Treaty of Lisbon.

It is unclear what practical relationship the post would have with other major posts, but the influence and role of the new post are likely to be shaped by the persona of the inaugural President.

The year 2010 may prove to be interesting in international affairs.

Regards  —  Cliff