Polish PM new Council President, Italy’s Mogherini appointed High Representative

Elected. The European Council has elected PM Donald Tusk as the next President of the European Council & Euro Summits #EUCO @premiertusk

— Herman Van Rompuy (@euHvR) August 30, 2014

Appointed. The European Council has appointed FM Federica Mogherini as the next EU High Representative #EUCO @FedericaMog

— Herman Van Rompuy (@euHvR) August 30, 2014

Heads of states and governments of the European Union this evening agreed to the successors of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton as President of the European Council and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs respectively.

The new President of the European Council will be Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a centre-right politician, tasked with chairing EU summits and mediate between the 28 governments for the next years.

Centre-left Federica Mogherini, the Italian foreign minister, has been appointed as the new EU High Representative.

The appointments were revealed by outgoing council president Herman Van Rompuy on Twitter, currently chairing the EU summit.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz, a Socialist, gave a strong indication that Mogherini would be a popular choice among MEPs as he described himself “a fan” of the Italian.

The EU foreign policy chief is also a vice-president of the European Commission.

The newly elected president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker (EPP) was reported to be convinced that the composition of the future Commission should only be decided once leaders decide on Van Rompuy’s and Ashton’s successors.