War In The E.U. As Herman Van Rompuy Makes Power Grab

[By Bruno Waterfield, Daily Telegraph | Friday, 26 February, 2010.]
National leaders are concerned Mr. Van Rompuy, who had been expected to take a back seat role, is attempting to expand his position. Germany and France backed his candidature on the understanding he would act as an E.U. "chairman" rather than a high-profile leader.

But the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty has triggered bitter in-fighting between Mr. Van Rompuy, Baroness Ashton, the foreign minister, and the Commission over who is in charge of representing Europe on the global stage.

Diplomats are increasingly worried that amid the turf wars there is a danger of Brussels "mission creep" as squabbling EU chiefs try to enlarge their empires at the expense of each other and national sovereignty. National governments, led by Germany, are incensed by an attempt by Mr. Van Rompuy to take on new powers he claims were agreed at an informal summit two weeks ago.

There has been particular anger over a letter he sent to E.U. leaders following the chaotic Feb 11 meeting in Brussels that was dominated by the economic crisis in Greece and talk of a European bail-out. Despite the fact that the meeting only lasted three hours, with Greece the main topic of discussion, Mr Van Rompuy insisted that eight to ten specific points were agreed, a view that has been disputed by most E.U. leaders.

One of the points of the classified letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph, gives Mr. Van Rompuy the right to lead the E.U.'s negotiating team at G20 summits, usurping the role of national governments and the Commission. "There was agreement to take better account of the international dimension. This includes a thorough preparation of the E.U. position for G20, allowing me to effectively and forcefully represent the E.U.'s positions in this important forum," said the letter.

One senior E.U. diplomat said the Lisbon Treaty clearly ruled Mr Van Rompuy out of a major G20 role. "G20 is primarily for national governments. The Commission represents the E.U. on economic or financial matters covered by the internal market," he said. "Van Rompuy only speaks if there is a foreign policy dimension, which is very unlikely. This was not discussed, let alone agreed." (Full story here.)