The 27 leaders of the EU have elected Belgian Herman Van Rompuy (62) as the the first European president in Brussels on 19/11/2009. Everyone supports the Prime Minister of Belgium, but this means that Van Rompuy will have to resign as Prime Minister of Belgium. Yves Leterme is expected to be pushed forward to follow him up as prime minister. Van Rompuy will chair the European Council of Ministers. He will have to make sure that all government leaders are on the same line to make decisions. On January 1 he will begin his new job.

Before the crucial dinner of the EU-top really started, around 19h the decision was made. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown withdrew the candidacy of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. With Catherine Asheton as High Representative for Foreign Policy there still is a European top job for the British.

The chairman of the European Council (the European president) is created by the Treaty of Lisbon and enters into force on the first of December. Van Rompuy, who gets a mandate for 2.5 years, chairs the quarterly meetings of the European leaders, representing the European Union in new international top-gatherings. He begins on January 1, 2010 with his new job and will earn € 350,000/year.