The European Union has chosen Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk to be the President of the European Council, the top official who chairs EU summits and mediates between the 28 governments. His new colleague is Federica Mogherini, fresh new EU foreign policy chief.
The news was first reported by outgoing Council President Herman Van Rompuy via his Twitter account.
Both politicians were strong contenders for their now-confirmed placements. Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, for one, commented that were he a betting man, he would have considered both Tusk and Mogherini shoo-ins for their positions.
EU leaders are currently meeting in Brussels, where they will also decide on further sanction measures against Russia for its alleged ongoing actions in east Ukraine.
The European Commission plays a large role in the EU, as it is where the Union’s top economical and foreign affairs policies are decided jointly between European PMs and heads of state.
Katainen not in running
Tusk was originally set to be challenged by Denmark’s PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt.
The Finnish press has long been speculating over whether former Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen – who was appointed interim European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs earlier this year – could be the "dark horse" of the top spot race. That wasn't to be but he remains in the running for another job at the commission.
A report on the EurActiv website this week revealed that the interim commissioners, who like Katainen took over spots vacated by commissioners who were elected to the European parliament in May, will receive around half a million euros plus pension benefits for just four months' work.
Edit: This article has been updated to correct Polish PM Donald Tusk's new post to President of the European Council; and the post of Herman Van Rompuy as outgoing European Council President.
