Van Rompuy publishes book as career nears end

Flemish politician Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium’ former prime minister and current president of the European Council, has published a book of essays called Europe in the Storm in which he describes his five years at the head of the EU.

Van Rompuy focuses on the financial crisis when the euro zone looked in danger of collapsing because of the banking situation and escalating debt in countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain. Van Rompuy’s role in chairing meetings of EU leaders meant he sat at the heart of the crisis. 

In the book, he describes the “moment of truth” arriving at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels in June 2012, when he chaired negotiations deep into the night and finally pushed leaders into agreeing on fundamental financial reforms.

“It marked a watershed,” he writes. “After more than two years of dealing with countries’ problems through ad hoc firefighting, leaders had finally come to the realisation that we were not just facing a series of country-specific problems, but a systemic crisis that required a systemic response.” 

This could be seen as a turning point in the history of European unity, he says. “They rallied unanimously around the need for action for Europe as a whole. We now had a compass.”

Soon after coming to office in 2009, Van Rompuy published a book of haiku poems; a second collection followed. Earlier this year, the 65-year-old announced that he would end his political career on 1 December, when his mandate as EU president comes to an end. “The end of 2014 is the end of my career,” he said.

Photo: Herman Van Rompuy presents his new book in Brussels

© Olivier Hoslet/EPA/Corbis