Thread: President of Europe is a Belgian

BBC News - Belgian PM Van Rompuy is named as new EU president

Herman Van Rompuy is a good choice. He is a concensus builder, and pulled our fledgling government back together.

While I am proud that the European president is a Belgian, I don't think it was that important. The person is more important than the nationality. I was happy though that it was not Blair. A European president should be looking after European interestsm, and not be a lapdog for the US like Blair was.

The funny thing was that the election itself was not really a big deal here in Belgium until now. Up until yesterday, noone was serious about his chances.

EU has a president, wow. What is coming next - federal EU taxes?

I have to say, I approve of the choice. A much better option than Blair in my opinion. I do my best to keep up with European news even though I live on the other side of the ocean. Congrats guys

Yet another reason for me to learn French and Dutch.

Originally Posted by sparq

EU has a president, wow. What is coming next - federal EU taxes?

Don't kid yourself. Member countries already pay a LOT for the functioning of the EU. For citizens of the member countries this really is a black box model.

Originally Posted by sparq

EU has a president, wow. What is coming next - federal EU taxes?

It is called VAT (value added tax), similar to sales tax in the US.

Originally Posted by Kees

It is called VAT (value added tax), similar to sales tax in the US.

Hmmm - not really. VAT is collected by individual EU countries AFAIK. That is similar to sales tax in the US that is collected by states, municipalities etc. There are no federal taxes in the EU indeed, but I am quite sure we will see it one day.

Btw - I have an EU passport.

Originally Posted by sparq

Hmmm - not really. VAT is collected by individual EU countries AFAIK. That is similar to sales tax in the US that is collected by states, municipalities etc. There are no federal taxes in the EU indeed, but I am quite sure we will see it one day.

Btw - I have an EU passport.

If you look at Europe as a federation of countries that will shed a different light on things. Part of the VAT revenue is used to pay for the European institutions mainly in Brussels.

Originally Posted by sparq

EU has a president, wow. What is coming next - federal EU taxes?

Have you ever read and understood Taxation and Customs Union - Taxation and Customs Union - European Commission - just asking because it's a bit complicated.

An excellent choice, really. Apart from the fact that a Briton as EU president would have been a contradiction in terms, especially that Labour Lite™ fella.

I must admit that I am quite surprised by the choice as there was a poll this week where less than 12% of the polled had ever heard his name and less than 5% would have cast a vote for him. Heck, I had heard of him maybe 3 times on the radio...

That being said, I agree that he was a better choice than Tony Blair... Jean-Claude Juncker would have been a good choice, but I feel he is going to be needed longer in Luxembourg.