Lisbon Treaty to lead to new era of EU leadership

Turkish diplomats are content with the “lifting of the blockade on enlargement” after the approval of the Lisbon Treaty, which chases away the clouds over EU expansion and opens the way for further reforms. European officials, however, warn that rules for accession are still the same. Read more about the treaty’s impact on Turkey in “New EU president to play key role in Turkey bid.”

THE CONTENDERS

The 27 European Union leaders are meeting Thursday to pick the bloc’s first president and new foreign policy chief from a handful of unnamed candidates, mostly current or former prime ministers. Here’s a list of candidates linked to the two top jobs created under the Lisbon Treaty.

THE PRESIDENT

The post of European Council president is being created under the Lisbon Treaty, which does not spell out what the EU leader’s job is intended to be. The original idea was that the president would provide the EU with a greater profile on the international stage, one commensurate with its economic weight. For more about the uncertainty, see “President’s duties left undefined.”

THE FOREIGN POLICY SUPREMO

With the Lisbon Treaty, the role of presenting Europe’s face to the world has shifted to a foreign policy supremo who will have a say over the European Union's annual $10.5 billion foreign aid budget and a new 5,000-strong EU diplomatic corps. More about the supremo’s influence in “Europe’s face to the world.”