  The EU presidency  Name a famous Belgian  Two minor but
competent figures will be president and high representative of
the EU  See article  Readers' comments     Why should a powerful
leader be wanting to have a more powerful above him?  As long as
those posts are chosen by European "leaders" - not by the
European citizens - it will remain to be filled with non-
challenging "personas".  Whoever wants to change this has to be
ready to give more direct power to the European people. - But
this is the last thing their leaders want . . . this is the
European "intrinsic plight".   Europe is not a country; it is a
union of countries sharing a certain number of policies. The
process of tightening the union is not a matter of "shiny
blabbering" and should NOT be directed outwards, but rather
inwards. It is a delicate diplomatic effort requiring a person
of consensus who will (indeed!) avoid overshadowing national
leaders for now (and probably for the ten years or so to come).
Strengthening the union is not an overnig