The appointment of Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, a devout Catholic who goes on retreats, as President of the European Union had Turkey, which is anxious to join the EU, worried because of his strong sentiments the country would never be admitted. The headlines of Turkey’s major papers voiced something approaching alarm in announcing Van Rompuy’s appointment. “Bad News” wrote the daily Radikal. “Opposition to Turkey at the top of the EU,” wrote Vatan, another major daily.
The press reports pointed in particular to a comment attributed to Van Rompuy in a speech while he was in the opposition in Belgium in which he said “Turkey is not part of Europe and will never be part of Europe.” The official response, though, was more measured. “(Belgium has) generally taken a positive stance toward the enlargement and have also supported our membership bid,” Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s chief EU negotiator said in a written statement. “It is important that Rompuy promised to be fair and objective related to our country’s membership bid. It suits the principle of pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be kept),” he said.
Van Rompuy was named to the post created by the new Lisbon Treaty, as President of the European Council, which had limited powers. Catherine Ashton of the United Kingdom, the EU’s Trade Minister, was named to the new post of de facto EU Foreign Minister, although she has no experience, and both appointments were met with a barrage of criticism in EU media and analysts, while the rest of the world scratched its head wondering who the two obscure politicians were and how they’d be the face of the EU. “It will ensure, of course, that Britain’s voice is very loud and clear,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who supported Ashton only at the last minute after giving up trying to convince the EU that former British prime minister Tony Blair, who angered many in Europe over his support of the war in Iraq and lukewarm support of the EU, should be Mr. Europe. UK media said Brown accepted instead the “consolation prize” of Ashton getting one of the two top spots.
It was reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, both of whom also oppose Turkish membership in the EU, steered Van Rompuy and Ashton into office to protect a French-German coalition against Turkey and to keep control of the EU in Paris and Berlin.  Turkish officials have recently expressed their worries that opposition to Ankara’s EU bid is growing, and that German and French want to push the country towards a “privileged partnership” with the bloc are gaining traction. Speaking to reporters, Turkish President Abdullah Gul called on the EU and its member countries to live up to the agreement made in 2004 to open up membership negotiations with Ankara. “There was a unanimous decision to open the talks after lengthy debates. Honoring promises is a main principle of law and it is binding on all,” Gul said.
Merkel welcomed the appointments she helped make, saying she had “full trust” in Van Rompuy and Ashton. “The chancellor approved their appointment with full conviction, and the federal government is convinced that both will do their work very well,” a spokesman for Merkel told reporters in Berlin. Westerwelle parroted her remarks, saying the two were both “capable personalities,” adding that: “They can count on our support in their efforts.”
The decision caused more flak for the EU when Spain, which will take over the rotating EU Presidency in January, a schedule to be phased out by the appointment of an EU President, said it supported Turkish entry into the EU, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made it clear his country –not Van Rompuy or Ashton or even European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, will set the EU’s agenda for the first six months of 2010. 
Some of Van Rompuy’s comments have caused concern in Muslim nations. Five years ago, he told the Belgian parliament: “Turkey is not a part of Europe and will never be part of Europe. 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,” Reuters reported.