Herman Van Rompuy, the European Union’s full-time president, has been in his job for just over a week – long enough to find out where the coffee machine is, if not where the bodies are buried. What have Europeans learnt about him in this short space of time?
First, he is keeping himself as visible and busy as possible. On January 4, his first working day, he made a splash by calling a special EU economic policy summit for next month. Two days later, he was in The Hague to see Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister. On Thursday he addressed the conservative Bavarian CSU party in Germany, and on Friday he was in Madrid for ceremonies marking the start of Spain’s six-month EU presidency.
Soon he will be off to Greece, Malta, Sweden and other EU countries for trips designed to familiarise the European public with his professorial features and consolidate the trust that EU national leaders showed in the former Belgian premier when they chose him in November to be the bloc’s first permanent President.
Forthe full report - FT.com / Global insight - Van Rompuy focuses on European future
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