Europe's Cautious Choice

By Anita Kirpalani

The EU seems never to miss a chance to be boring. Last week, after much agonizing, it decided to fill two top posts created by the new Lisbon Treaty--the European Council president and the high representative for foreign policy--with relative unknowns, Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton, the EU trade commissioner. Critics have already blasted the union for forgoing big-name statesmen such as Tony Blair for the bland lowest common denominator. But the move may actually turn out to have been the wisest one in the long run. "There appears to be less wind in the sails, but beneath the surface the EU might end up being more united," says Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow and Europe expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. That's because the EU picked people who actually have a chance at fostering consensus, especially on matters such as Iraq or Afghanistan policy. A higher-profile candidate like Blair might have been able to use his star power to bring the bloc a bigger international profile. But he also would have risked alienating certain member states--especially given Blair's controversial closeness to Washington and his support for the Iraq War. What looks like timidity might just lead to a stronger Europe after all.