As aformerBelgianprime minister, hehas big ambitionsfor the EuropeanCouncil, which became a formalEUinstitution for the firsttime under the Lisbontreaty.
Assuming that is right, expect to see a big increase in appeals to the one bit of the European machine where unanimity will remain the rule: the European Council, which gathers together the 27 national leaders of the EU. Under Lisbon the European Council is to gain a semi-permanent president, to replace the system of rotating presidencies.
The first task may come next week, when European leaders choose candidates for the two top jobs being created by Lisbon: the president of the European Council and a beefed-up high representative for foreign policy.