Claim eed5eb0aChecked 09 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“Herman Van Rompuy was the first full-time president of the European Council.”
Reasoning & Evidence09 Jul 2026
The claim is correct. The Council of the EU says Herman Van Rompuy was “elected as the first full-time President of the European Council” in November 2009 and took office on 1 December 2009; the Council’s former presidents page likewise says he was the first permanent President of the European Council. (consilium.europa.eu) Sources: Council of the EU, “Biography of Herman Van Rompuy” (`https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/former-euco-presidents/herman-van-rompuy/biography/`); Council of the EU, “Former Presidents of the European Council” (`https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/european-council/former-euco-presidents/`); EUR-Lex, “European Council Decision of 1 December 2009 electing the President of the European Council” (`https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2009/879/oj/eng`).
From article
Except towards [Herman Van Rompuy,] the president of the European Council? You told him to his face he had ‘the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk’.3On February 24, 2010, he told Herman Van Rompuy, the first full-time president of the European Council: ‘We were told that, when we had a president, we’d see a giant global political figure. … I’m afraid what we got was you. … I don’t want to be rude, but … you have the charisma of a damp rag and the appearance of a low-grade bank clerk. … You appear to have a loathing for the very concept of the existence of nation states. Perhaps that’s because you come from Belgium, which of course is pretty much a non-country.’
Sources opened+ 25 search hits considered
| [1] | consilium.europa.eu |