Herman Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton may have won the long-running contest to determine the European Union’s first full-time president and foreign affairs chief, but the real winner may have been José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president.
Mr Barroso, who is about to embark on a second five-year term, enjoys far greater name recognition and authority on the world stage than his new colleagues, who are low-profile and little-known even in their home countries.
