Brussels, 02/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - This was the best decision - my re-election, said the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on Friday 2 March at the end of the European summit. The former Belgian prime minister was unanimously re-elected for a further two and a half years (until November 2014) as president of the European Council, and was also made president of the eurozone, a new job established under the budget pact signed the same day (see separate article). It is a privilege to serve Europe in such decisive times, and also a huge responsibility, he said at the summit, thanking his colleagues for their support. He added that it was now a matter of convincing people across Europe that the sacrifices being asked of them in the recent crisis years have not been in vain. For a long time, he said, the word “Europe” was synonymous with hope, peace and prosperity, but this had been damaged by the crisis and it was his role, and the other European leaders' role, to ensure that Europe becomes a symbol of hope again. Promising to remain true to his own style and working methods, Van Rompuy said that economic outcomes were top of his agenda because without strong economic foundations, the social models of the European welfare state are in danger and it will not be possible for Europe to play a role on the world stage. At a press conference, he recommended striking the right balance between spending cuts and measures to stimulate growth, like investment in the future, education and innovation, for example.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said the unanimous vote for Herman Van Rompuy reflected the fact that he was trusted by Europe's leaders and did excellent work. The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said Van Rompuy provided the hugely needed coherence for the European Council's work, acting with caution, patience and intelligence. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said Van Rompuy was excellent at finding compromises, doing it much better than Sarkozy could himself. (MB, AN/EH/transl.fl)