A Conversation with the First ‘President of Europe’

A Conversation with the First ‘President of Europe’

As I write my new book, I am reminded of the day I was officially introduced to Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy, former Prime Minister of Belgium and the very first permanent President of the European Council (2009–2014). At the time, he was sometimes referred to as the “President of Europe,” the predecessor to today’s Ursula von der Leyen.

Now, let me be clear: I’ve never been a fan of the EU bureaucracy. Still, meeting a man with such enormous influence was an occasion to remember.

My opening line was that he had finally solved Henry Kissinger’s problem, the famous quip, “Who do I call when I want to talk to Europe?” In hindsight, he must have heard that line a hundred times before… not my most original moment.

Van Rompuy himself was disarmingly modest, pointing out that he was “just” the chair of the European Council, technically correct, and a sign of his character. At one point, I asked him why, in heaven’s name, he chose to work in a business as dirty as politics and how he managed to deal with what I called the “excessively paid applause machines.”

His witty reply still lingers with me today though I’ll save that story for my upcoming book. What I can say is that the tone was set, and over a glass or two, we carried on a remarkably pleasant and engaging conversation.