EU President, Herman Van Rompuy accused of acting like a 'Roman Emperor'

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Perilous Times and The Revived Roman Empire

EU President, Herman Van Rompuy accused of acting like a 'Roman Emperor'

Herman Van Rompuy, the new president of the EU, has been accused of having 'delusions of grandeur' over his choice of a summit venue.
 

By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Published: 7:00AM GMT 03 Feb 2010


Mr Van Rompuy has caused consternation in Brussels after he tried to hold his first EU summit, dedicated to greater "economic union", in a palace.

After pressure from Europe's capitals, Mr Van Rompuy switched the Brussels summit to another prestigious, but less regal, building hundreds of yards away from the usual office block venue where EU leaders meet.
 
But diplomats are still predicting "chaos" when EU leaders meet next week in the ornate, but badly equipped Bibliotheque Solvay, a cramped 100-year-old library which does not even include interpretation booths.

Talks, over two working sessions and lunch, will focus on proposals from Mr Van Rompuy to give the EU more "economic governance" powers in the aftermath of the recession and after implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force last month.

Mr Van Rompuy, who is President of the European Council, the institution that represents EU leaders, originally wanted to hold the gathering in the Palais d'Egmont, the 18th century Brussels palace where, in 1972, Edward Heath signed Britain into the EU.

"That had to be stopped. Who does he think he is, a Roman Emperor?," said one diplomat.

Mr Van Rompuy's spokesman said that the idea was to move out of the "not so cosy" glass and steel EU quarters to a venue reminiscent of the Union's original informal "fireside" meetings of European leaders.

"The president wants to create a more intimate atmosphere for dialogue," he said.

But diplomats are concerned Mr Van Rompuy might be trying to bounce EU leaders into agreeing far-reaching economic proposals without proper support from national delegations, which will be housed in a different building without any communications links to the meeting venue.

Mr Van Rompuy has already ruffled feathers by calling the extra Feb 11 summit, as well as the traditional spring meeting in March, and by insisting that he alone will draw up a paper proposing economic targets and policy for the year 2020 to be set at the EU level.

"We are now moving beyond just monetary union to economic union," said a senior EU official.

Many national officials are concerned that Mr Van Rompuy is too "malleable" by pressure from France and Germany and is failing to take into account the interests of all the 27 member states.

"Many countries, including Britain, are concerned over suggestions that the EU would be able to take sanctions or collective redress against those who do not follow economic targets," said a diplomat.

José Manual Barroso, the European Commission President, has suggested that the summit will take new steps towards "economic government" at the European level.

"All the logic of the Lisbon Treaty is to reinforce the European approach, also in the economic case," he said on Tuesday.

The summit row comes amid confusion over implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, which was supposed to make the EU better organised, and the new presidential role played by Mr Van Rompuy. Criticism has also been levelled at Baroness Ashton, the EU's first foreign minister, for a "lacklustre and unimpressive" performance.