LEADALL: World shrugs off top EU appointments

By German Press Agency dpa correspondents Nov 20, 2009, 12:09 GMT

   The world reacted with a shrug, ritualistic praise and a tinge of criticism Friday to the appointment of two relatively unknown figures to the European Union's top posts.

   The administration of US President Barack Obama said the choice of Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the bloc's first full-time president could strengthen trans-Atlantic relations.

   In a statement, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the appointments 'a milestone for Europe' and said she was looking forward to working with her new European counterparts on such crucial matters as Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

   EU leaders also picked British Baroness Catherine Ashton as their new foreign policy coordinator during closed-door discussions in Brussels on Thursday.

   Both posts were created by the Lisbon Treaty to strengthen the bloc's international standing.

   But analysts soon questioned the wisdom of appointing two officials with only limited experience.

The two winning candidates were believed to have been chosen precisely because of their relative clout, beating more high-profile figures such as Tony Blair and Massimo D'Alema, former prime ministers from Britain and Italy.

   'Most people in Europe have never even heard of Herman Van Rompuy or Catherine Ashton, yet here they are to represent us in the global arena. Surely Europe can do better than this,' said Lorraine Mullally, an analyst at the London-based Open Europe think tank.

   In Beijing, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also offered his congratulations to the new officials, describing the EU as a 'strategic partner.'

   Jiabao is due to attend an EU-China summit in Nanjing on November 30, in which the EU will still be represented by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, since Van Rompuy is not due to assume office until January 1.

Ashton's appointment, meanwhile, will need to be vetted by the European Parliament later that month, since the foreign policy high representative will also act as deputy president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm in Brussels.

   In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he expected Van Rompuy to 'continue on the path of developing a strategic partnership with Russia' and recalled Ashton's efforts to take 'Moscow seriously' during her current post as EU trade commissioner.

   But Van Rompuy's appointment was met with concern in Ankara because of the Belgian's known opposition to Turkey joining the EU.

   'Bad News' was the choice of headline at daily Radikal.

   'Opposition to Turkey at the top of the EU,' wrote Vatan, another major daily.

While he has been quoted as saying that 'Turkey is not part of Europe and will never be part of Europe', Van Rompuy quickly moved to dispel any possible fallout with Turkey over his appointment, telling reporters on Thursday that 'my personal views are irrelevant, my role is to find consensus.'

The news out of Brussels hardly made the headlines elsewhere around the world.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor declined to comment, calling the appointments an 'internal European matter'.

Indian officials also remained mum, with reports of the two EU appointments relegated to the internal pages of most newspapers.

Back in Europe, meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the new EU president and foreign policy chief had her 'full trust.'

That view was not being shared by eurosceptic commentators in London.

'A Belgian federalist and a former chairwoman of Hertfordshire Health Authority were ushered into Europe's two grandest jobs last night as it stumbled on to the world stage,' wrote The Times, a conservative daily.