EU summit

EU leaders announced their decision this evening to nominate Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy as the first EU Council President and Commissioner Catherine Ashton as EU high representative for foreign and security policy.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, commented:

“EU leaders have continued the job of weakening the EU institutions. They have followed their weak choice of Commission President with a bland Council President and an unremarkable foreign affairs high representative. Europe is sinking to a low. The good news is that things can only get better.”

Rebecca Harms, Co-President of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, commented:

"The choice of a woman for one of the EU top jobs owes much to the intervention of the European Parliament's women members. Catherine Ashton's success will depend on being able to work in close cooperation with the European Parliament. She is better equipped to achieve that than her predecessor Javier Solana.

"Herman van Rompuy will be more of a chief moderator than a President of the EU Council. EU leaders got exactly what so many of them wanted: someone who won't steal their limelight.”