Governments closest to the deal that saw Belgian prime minister Herman van Rompuy named as the first full-time European Council President and current Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton as EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy welcomed the outcome, but elsewhere there were misgivings about the choices.
 
At a special informal meeting of the European Council on November 19 2009, a deal was reached that also saw Pierre de Boissieu appointed to the new post of Secretary-General of the Council Secretariat. All three posts are created by the Lisbon Treaty, which comes into effect on December 1 2009.
 
Media reports said that the deal was achieved after UK prime minister Gordon Brown, realising that his predecessor Tony Blair had no chance of getting the President’s post, agreed to the job going to Van Rompuy, in return for the foreign policy post going to a Briton – Ashton.
 
"The whole of the EU stands behind these names. We showed this tonight, reaching these unanimous decisions," Fredrik Reinfeldt, prime minister of Sweden, current holder of the EU presidency under the rotating system that will be scrapped with the advent of the Lisbon Treaty, said at a news conference.
 
Van Rompuy may not be the most famous of EU politicians, but he was tipped for the posts as President of the European Council by many, according to a statement on the Swedish EU presidency website.
 
Van Rompuy was elected Belgian prime minister in 2008, and has held high posts in the Belgian political leadership since 1975. He has been both deputy prime minister and minister for the budget.
 
Now, he will instead have the task of representing all the EU’s member states.
 
"The EU belongs to us all and should be there for each member state. We are on a common journey heading towards a common destination, but we all have our own luggage and we must be allowed to be different from one another," he said.
 
"There have been many speculations on what the permanent President’s profile should look like, but only one profile is possible. A profile characterised by dialogue, unity and action."
 
Ashton said that she was deeply honoured and privileged.
"Working with both the Council and the Commission will be a challenge, and being the first person ever to hold this post will be a challenge. I was the first woman British European Commissioner, then I was the first woman Trade Commissioner and now the first woman on this post."
 
Reinfeldt said that the choices of Ashton and Van Rompuy was an important step towards raising the EU’s voice in the world.
 
"We were looking for individuals who could create continuity, who could bring us together, be Europe’s voice, face and presence in the world. I think we have achieved this" Reinfeldt said, receiving the support of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
 
German chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country had joined France in pushing for Van Rompuy to be given the European Council Presidency, was quoted by euronews as saying: "In the end we had to decide. We made a good decision, avoiding the prospect of a small minority blocking it We got a candidate who brings consensus and whose political competencies have long been tested and tried throughout his political career."
 
French president Nicolas Sarkozy said: "I think it’s a very wise decision to have chosen as the first, stable president of the Council a man who comes from one of the founding countries of the European Union, from an important country but not one of the most important countries, so that no one will feel excluded from the process."
 
UK prime minister Brown said that the Ashton appointment would give Britain "a powerful voice in Europe".
 
But, the BBC said, critics said the pair were relative unknowns with little political clout.
 
Reactions in November 20’s UK newspapers ranged from surprise to anger.
 
The Daily Mail said there had been a "great EU stitch-up", while the Guardian, under the same headline, remarked that Baroness Ashton was "as unelected as she is obscure".
 
James Kirkup, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said her appointment would be "rightly mocked" but was still an "unlikely coup" for Brown on the European stage, the BBC said.
 
The appointments were welcomed by US president Barack Obama and by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
 
US President Barack Obama welcomed the appointment of the EU's first president Thursday, saying it would make Europe an "even stronger partner" for the United States.
 
Obama, in a statement issued by the White House, said the appointments would strengthen the EU and enable it to be an even stronger partner to the United States.
 
"The United States has no stronger partner than Europe in advancing security and prosperity around the world," Obama said.
 
Clinton said that the appointments were "a milestone for Europe and for its role in the world".
 
"I look forward to working closely with them to strengthen and broaden our partnership - from achieving stability in Afghanistan to securing Iranian compliance with its nonproliferation obligations and promoting a comprehensive peace in the Middle East, among many other shared objectives," she said.
 
"The United States and Europe form a community of values. We are united by our deep commitment to freedom, security, human rights, the rule of law, and open markets. Our 800 million citizens are bound together by enduring links of culture and commerce, by our shared history and our common hopes for the future," Clinton said.
 
"We are working together as partners to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the 21st century. With the appointment of these distinguished leaders, I am more confident than ever that together we can build a more peaceful and prosperous world," she said.

Speaking in Brussels, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov told journalists that Van Rompuy was a "good friend of Bulgaria" and an extraordinary politician and diplomat, Bulgarian National Radio said.
 
Borissov said that Van Rompuy had told him that he would try to go ahead with a previously scheduled visit to Sofia on December 14 2009, unless his new responsibilities prevented this.
 
Ashon previously had visited Bulgaria, Borissov said. They knew each other, Borissov said, adding that he was convinced that the Government in Sofia would work well with Ashton.

Russia expects a continuation of its strategic partnership with the EU after the election of the bloc's first president, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on November 20 by Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

"We look forward to co-operation with the new EU leadership," Lavrov said. "I am sure that Herman Van Rompuy will continue pursuing a line toward developing strategic partnership with Russia."

In Turkey, there were misgivings, as media reported that five years ago, Van Rompuy had spoken publicly against Turkey being admitted to the EU.
 
"Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe…an expansion of the EU to include Turkey cannot be considered as just another expansion as in the past. The universal values which are in force in Europe, and which are also fundamental values of Christianity, will lose vigor with the entry of a large Islamic country such as Turkey," Van Rompuy said in 2004.
 
The BBC quoted Turkish member of parliament Onur Oymen as saying that he was concerned about what Van Rompuy's presidency could mean for Turkey's aspirations to join the EU.
 
Oymen told the BBC that Van Rompuy had "said a few years ago that he was totally against Turkish membership because of religious and cultural reasons".
 
"We are not very optimistic about the future of our relations during his presidency," Oymen said.