Die Wahl von „Mr(s). Europa“ [Archived][en] 

The EU's new 'Reform Treaty' was agreed upon by EU leaders at a summit in June 2007 and the updated final text was formally approved in October 2008 at an intergovernmental conference (IGC) (EurActiv 19/10/08). The 'Treaty of Lisbon ', as it was finally named, was officially signed by EU heads of state and government at a summit in the Portuguese capital on 13 December 2007 (EurActiv 14/12/07). 

The treaty aims to streamline EU decision-making by introducing voting reform in the Council, reducing the size of the European Commission and strengthening the role of national parliaments. It also creates two new posts: 

• A new, permanent president of the EU Council of Ministers, who will chair EU summits and replace the current system of six-month rotating presidencies, and;
• a High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, a position currently held by Javier Solana, who will also be the EU's external relations commissioner. 

The legal foundation 

The legal basis for the positions of permanent President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is briefly defined by the Lisbon Treaty: 

• Article 9B: 

5. The European Council shall elect its President, by a qualified majority, for a term of two and a half years, renewable once. In the event of an impediment or serious misconduct, the European Council can end the President's term of office in accordance with the same procedure. 

6. The President of the European Council: 

(a) shall chair it and drive forward its work; 

(b) shall ensure the preparation and continuity of the work of the European Council in cooperation with the President of the Commission, and on the basis of the work of the General Affairs Council; 

(c) shall endeavour to facilitate cohesion and consensus within the European Council, and; 

(d) shall present a report to the European Parliament after each of the meetings of the European Council. 

The President of the European Council shall, at his level and in that capacity, ensure the external representation of the Union on issues concerning its common foreign and security policy, without prejudice to the powers of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. 

The President of the European Council shall not hold a national office. 

• Article 9E: 

1. The European Council, acting by a qualified majority, with the agreement of the President of the Commission, shall appoint the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The European Council may end his term of office by the same procedure. 

2. The High Representative shall conduct the Union's common foreign and security policy. He shall contribute by his proposals to the development of that policy, which he shall carry out as mandated by the Council. The same shall apply to the common security and defence policy. 

3. The High Representative shall preside over the Foreign Affairs Council. 

4. The High Representative shall be one of the Vice-Presidents of the Commission. He shall ensure the consistency of the Union's external action. He shall be responsible within the Commission for responsibilities incumbent on it in external relations and for coordinating other aspects of the Union's external action. 

Rules and timing unclear

The criteria for who to choose for these two new top positions were not written down in the Lisbon Treaty. It will therefore be up to Europe's heads of state and government to decide on who they want to choose as their new representatives.

Judging from the way the president of the European Commission has been selected in the past, it can be expected that mysterious bargaining will once again take place among the 27 EU countries.

The bargaining package will have to take into account decisions already taken to reappoint José Manuel Barroso as European Commission president and Jerzy Buzek as president of the European Parliament. It will also take into account the distribution of important portfolios in the Commission.

The process of nominating commissioners began with the election of José Manuel Barroso as Commission president on 16 September 2009 (EurActiv 16/09/09).

The big question: who to choose?

In the absence of formal criteria, much speculation has broken out over who should take up the role of EU president. According to Stanley Crossick, a veteran EU policy analyst and founding chairman of the European Policy Centre (EPC) - a Brussels-based think-tank - the new EU Troika needs to strike a balance between the following criteria (see blog post on Blogactiv for full analysis ):

• Nationality;
• geography;
• size of country, and;
• political affiliation.

However, according to Crossick, the most desirable criterion is the candidate's ability to carry out the relevant responsibilities. In this perspective, Crossick argues that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the only person who has "the authority and ability" to ensure the importance of the troika and would also contribute to another desirable criterion, which is gender balance.

The below list gives an indication of the potential candidates and is not exhaustive:

What do the citizens think?

According to a poll by Harris Interactive published in early April, most European citizens consider German Chancellor Angela Merkel to be the most influential leader in Europe, while Tony Blair is the preferred candidate for the job of EU president.

But Merkel is not running at the moment, while Blair's chances appear to be slim due to the opposition of countries like Belgium. As for Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, considered an ideal candidate by several heavyweight politicians, he is not a recognisable figure to many Europeans. As a possible EU president, he is credited with only 1% support in France, 2% in Germany, 1% in Italy and less than 1% in Spain and the UK.