New E.U. leaders

last updated 8 January 2015

Brussels

The E.U. this week split its top posts between the left and the right. The two largest parliamentary blocs of parties struck a power-sharing deal that put a conservative, former Portuguese prime minister José Manuel Barroso, in charge of the European Commission. A socialist, former Spanish transport minister Josep Borrell, assumed the presidency of the European Parliament. Both men are fluent in English and French, the two most widely used E.U. languages. Borrell opposed the war in Iraq, while Barroso backed it. But at his confirmation hearings last week, Barroso sought to downplay that support. While emphasizing that the E.U. should have a good relationship with the U.S., he added, “I hate arrogance. I hate militarism. That, I detest.”