EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President.
欧盟领导人选定比利时首相——赫尔曼·范龙佩——为欧洲理事会第一位永久主席。

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Mr Van Rompuy was widely tipped, but Baroness Ashton was not

The other top job created by the Lisbon Treaty - foreign affairs supremo（总裁，首脑） - has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner², Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK.

Both are seen as consensual（在两愿下成立的，交感性的） politicians with limited foreign policy experience.

Both had unanimous（全体一致的） backing from the 27 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

Earlier, the UK government had said it was no longer pushing for former PM Tony Blair to get the presidency³ post.

Mr Van Rompuy, 62, had crucial French and German support. He has a reputation as a coalition⁴（合并，联合） builder, having taken charge of the linguistically⁵（语言学的） divided Belgian government and steered⁶（引导，驾驶） it out of a crisis.

"Every country should emerge victorious⁷ from negotiations⁸," he told a news conference after his appointment.

"Even if unity⁹ remains¹⁰ our strength, our diversity（差异，多样化） remains our wealth," he said, stressing the individuality of EU member states.

Baroness Ashton, 53, said she felt "deeply privileged（有特权的）" to get the foreign affairs post.

"I was the first woman British commissioner（委员，行政理事）, the first woman trade commissioner, so I am also proud to be the first woman High Representative," she said.

"I think there was a strong push to have at least one woman in a senior position," she told the BBC later, adding that she hoped Europe would become "an economic superpower".

UK shifts stance

Earlier, a UK government spokesman revealed the dramatic twist in the British position.

The UK persuaded the other six leaders in the socialist¹¹ group to back Baroness Ashton, having dropped Tony Blair.

EU leaders met in Brussels especially to select their first full-time¹² president and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs - new posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which will come into force on 1 December.

The idea under Lisbon is to give the EU more coherence¹³（粘附，附着） and continuity in key policy areas. Up until now the presidency has been held by member states in turn, on a six-month rotation（旋转，循环）.

Going into the meeting the leaders had various candidates to choose from.

There were fears that the negotiations would go on late into the night, but it quickly emerged that a deal had been struck.

Drive for consensus¹⁴

Mr Brown praised Mr Van Rompuy as "a consensus builder" who had "brought a period of political stability to his country after months of uncertainty¹⁵".

Turning to Baroness Ashton's appointment, he said "it gives Britain a powerful voice within the Council and the [EU] Commission.

"It will ensure that Britain's voice is very loud and clear. It will ensure that Britain remains at the heart of Europe."

Baroness Ashton "is the first woman to hold such a high position in the EU," he added.

Commenting on the choice, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "It's so important that Britain remains at the heart of the European project."

The foreign policy chief will have a seat as vice-president of the European Commission, as well as a budget worth billions of euros and a new diplomatic service of up to 5,000 people.

For months Mr Blair had been a favourite for president, backed by the UK government, and he was the highest-profile candidate.

Another contender, Dutch PM Jan-Peter Balkenende, ruled himself out of the contest as the meeting got under way.

Seeking balance

The EU leaders had a working dinner together to negotiate the appointments.

They were reported to be striving for a balance in the two posts, with one filled by a candidate from one of the bigger EU states, the other from a smaller country.

Similarly, the presidency was expected to go to a centre-right politician and the post of foreign affairs chief to the centre-left.

The combination of Mr Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton achieves that balance, the BBC's Jonny Dymond says.

Mr Barroso said Mr Van Rompuy's appointment was "a tribute to Belgium", noting Belgium's key role as host of the EU's main institutions.

The EU president will chair regular meetings of the European Council at which decisions are taken about the political position of the bloc¹⁶.

However, correspondents say the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, as the post is officially known, could have an even more powerful role.