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Herman Van Rompuy, who held the position of the first full-time President of the European Council, was elected in November 2009 and took office when the Lisbon Treaty came into force on 1 December 2009. He was re-elected for a second term in June 2012 for the period until 30 November 2014. Prior to his distinguished post as head of an EU institution he held several significant government positions in his home country, Belgium, including Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Budget (1993-1999), Minister of State (2004), Speaker of the House of Representatives (2007-2008) and Prime Minister (2008-2009). The 67-year-old politician holds a Bachelor degree in Philosophy and a Master in Applied Economics from K.U. Leuven. He started his political career in the 1970s in the youth council of the Christian People’s Party (CVP) and he held various responsibilities within his party during the years.
His nomination as President of the European Council in 2009 was highly debated because, together with Catherine Ashton, he was not considered charismatic enough for such a post. However, at the end, it might have been his low-profile, consensus-seeking nature which won him the seat, because EU leaders did not want to choose a very strong and influential person as the first European Council President. During his five-year long term Van Rompuy has proven to be a leader dedicated to European integration and he managed to keep European unity in times of the economic and financial crisis.
Van Rompuy held a presentation at Sciences Po, Paris on 25 November, which can be considered to be his closing speech. Addressing his audience, he spoke about his legacy and visions on Europe which mainly focused on continuing European integration. Among the major challenges facing the EU in the future he mentioned fighting against extremism and populism, boosting European economy and solving the Ukraine crisis and the problem with the United Kingdom. On the latter subject, he added: “Without Britain, Europe will be wounded, amputated even, so we need to do everything to avoid it, but Europe will survive. Without France, Europe – the European idea – would die.” The last sentence is a reference to his belief that France has to take the lead in Europe again. Van Rompuy left three guiding principles to Tusk: he reminded him that speaking the truth, creating hope and restoring the confidence in the EU political scene will be his major tasks. With the end of his term Van Rompuy finishes his political career and he will start teaching at the College of Europe and the university of Leuven-la-Neuve.
The outgoing President of the European Council handed over his office to his successor, Donald Tusk on 1 December, in Brussels at the “first handover ceremony” in the European Council since the Lisbon Treaty. Referring to Tusk as “the first son of Poland”, Van Rumpuy expressed his confidence that the EU is in good hands because Tusk is a wise politician and a true European. The new President gave his predecessor a Polish amber stone as a gift, for good luck.
The 57-year-old former Polish Prime Minister, who studied history at Gdańsk University, became interested in politics at a young age. During his university years he got involved in illegal activities against the communist regime and he cooperated with underground Free Trade Unions. In the 1980s he earned his living as a bread seller and manual labourer, but at the same time he participated in the activities of the Solidarity movement: he founded an Independent Students’ Association and worked for a journal both of which were affiliated with the movement. Moreover he founded a monthly “Political Review” propagating economic liberalism and liberal democracy. He was also co-founder of the first pro-European and pro-business party of Poland, the Liberal Democratic Congress. In the 1990s Tusk was a Member of Parliament and in the 2000s he was one of the initiators of the Civic Platform. In 2003 he became the leader of the party and became Prime Minister in 2007. He held his office for seven years, during which his country managed to maintain economic growth and its economy grew by almost 20% despite the economic crisis.
Tusk was chosen on 30 August by EU leaders to be the next European Council President by unanimity. In his speech at the handover ceremony, he expressed his respect for Van Rompuy and his role in “steering Europe out of the storm.” He said that he is determined to drive Europe to success which has four ingredients. The first is the protection of fundamental values (solidarity, freedom and unity) against the threats which the EU has to face both from outside and inside. With this commitment he reinforced Van Rompuy’s words who, at the same event, also mentioned defending European values against outside pressure. The second ingredient for success is the determination to end the crisis which should be based on completing the Economic Monetary Union, without forgetting about the euro. Thirdly, he envisions an internationally strong Europe. And last but not least he mentioned the EU-US relations as the backbone of the “community of democracies.” His priorities as European Council President will be getting out of the financial crisis, effectively dealing with the situation in Ukraine and keeping Britain in the EU.
Choosing Tusk as head of the European Council was a wise choice from EU leaders: as a politician who has the ability both to create compromises and push through unpopular decisions Tusk is clearly adequate for the post. The fact that he has experience in the Eastern European region, he knows Russia very well and he has a good relation with most of the EU leaders, including Merkel, Hollande and Cameron will surely serve to his, and the Union’s benefit. If we compare the visions of Van Rompuy and Tusk it is apparent that they do not agree in everything: for instance, Van Rompuy’s push for a French leadership in the EU might not be welcome by the Polish politician because coming from a ‘new’ but large Member State he previously was quite unpleased by the dominating roles of France and Germany in eurozone negotiations. On the other hand, Tusk shares Van Rompuy’s commitment to values, such as democracy, solidarity and freedom, which indeed should be the driving principles of European integration. There are a few circumstances based on which the new President could be criticized, for example his far from perfect English and French language skills or the fact that his country is not a member of the eurozone. However, the first criticism can be applied to many other EU officials in significant posts too, and it can easily be overcome, while the second might even have positive effects on the joint economic-fiscal coordination of the EU by euro and non-euro countries. Tusk’s first big test will be in the middle of December when EU leaders will discuss an agreement on a European investment fund aimed to stimulate growth in Europe. We, European citizens, should hope that the nomination of Donald Tusk marks the end of a decade-long debate between old and new Member States of the EU and that the community will have a strong, smart and charismatic leader who will guide it through the difficult times.
The views expressed above belong to the author and do not in any way represent the views of the HAS Centre for Social Sciences.