Presently, the European Council is chair by the Head of State or Government of the Member State which holds the Presidency of the Council (six months rotating presidency) however this is about to change. On 19 November, Herman Van Rompuy, Belgian Prime Minister, has been appointed, by the 27 EU member states’ heads of state and government, in a behind closed doors meeting, the first full-time President of the European Council, for a term of two and a half years, renewable once. The President of the European Council will be a permanent figure with more influence and symbolism. This represents more transfer of political power to the EU.

Herman Van Rompuy has been Belgian Prime Minister since December 2008 and has held other high posts such as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Budget, nevertheless he is not known outside Belgium. He is meant to represent 500 million citizens but those citizens had no say on his appointment.

It is not clear yet what would be his exact tasks and responsibilities. According to Barroso "The job of the president is to deliver the results of a European Council," therefore should be "Someone who will fight to reach agreement in the European Council.” And, that is the reason Brussels chose Herman Van Rompuy, a “discrete conciliator.” It has been said that he will not pursue the role of a “president” but he will be a “consensus builder.” He has been called “the master of the back room deal.” It is through “back room deals” that the EU gets things done, therefore this post suits him well.

The main task of the president will be to chair the European Council summits and setting the agenda. The President will chair and lead the European Council work in order to ensure continuity in EU initiatives. Under the Lisbon Treaty provisions he shall “ensure the preparation and continuity of the work of the European Council” and “shall endeavour to facilitate cohesion and consensus within the European Council.” On his first speech as EU president he outlined his priorities, such as the financial perspectives and the Lisbon Strategy, “economic and social agenda”, “the environmental and energy challenges” and “greater security and justice for all our fellow citizens.” He has always favoured further European integration, therefore, this will be his main priority. He is an assumed Eurofanatic who wants to abolish national symbols in favour of the EU ones.

Mr Van Rompuy has started pursuing his job even before being appointed, calling for EU direct taxes. During a Bilderberg Group dinner he said “New resources will be necessary for the financing of the welfare state. Green tax instruments are a possibility, but they are ambiguous: (…) But the possibilities of financial levies at European level must be seriously examined and for the first time the large countries in the union are open to that."

Van Rompuy has a low international profile but he also has a role in the EU’s external relations. The Lisbon Treaty is very vague particularly in stating that the European Council president would also represent the EU externally for matters relating to the common foreign and security policy without prejudice to the remit of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. This of course creates a problem of delineation of tasks for each post. There is no indication on the Lisbon treaty how the relationship between the European Council President, the High Representative, and the President of the Commission will work. Herman Van Rompuy has said “I will be present at the summit meetings with our partners across the world and I will put forward the positions that the Council has approved.” He is counting “on the President of the Commission to fulfil a similar role in areas other than the Common Foreign and Security Policy.” It seems that the President of the European Commission will not be overshadowed by the President of the European Council in representing the EU in the international stage. In fact, he might see his responsibility in representing the EU externally enhanced.

The EU president will have at his disposal the staff of the General Secretariat such as the Directorate for general political questions, the Legal Service, translation services, and press office. Under Article 210 TFEU the salaries, allowances and pensions of the President of the European Council are decided by the Council. Mr Van Rompuy is likely to have a salary around £270,000. The taxpayers are expected to pay around £5.5million a year just on the president costs.