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Details Published on Sunday, 31 August 2014 06:15 Xinhua Hits: 209 Privacy Policy

The European Union (EU) leaders during a summit on Saturday elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as president of the European Council, and appointed Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini as the EU's foreign policy chief.

"The European Council decided today to elect Donald Tusk as President of the European Council, and to appoint Federica Mogherini as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy," a European Council statement said.

Donald Tusk, the center-right Polish Prime Minister will be the second president of the European council. His election reflected a strong desire by EU's eastern countries to finally hold a senior position in the Union.

The European Council President is the person who chairs EU leaders summits and mediates between the 28 governments. According to the Treaty on European Union (TEU), the European Council shall elect its President by a qualified majority for a period of two and a half years, renewable once.

"The President of the European Council is elected for the period from 1 December 2014 until 31 May 2017," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Tusk was also appointed President of the Euro Summit, for the same period. Described by the media as "a leading EU hawk on the Kremlin and the crisis in Ukraine", Tusk has clear favorites by the EU leaders amid the upheaval in Ukraine.

Herman Van Rompuy, the current holder of the position, praised Tusk as "a statesman for Europe" at a press conference after the election.

"He has impressed his colleagues and the outside world with the determined and confident way he has led his country and steered Poland through the economic crisis, managing to maintain steady economic growth and never fall into recession," Van Rompuy said.

Van Rompuy said there are three challenges that the EU will be facing in the years ahead: the stagnating economy, Ukraine and Russia, and Britain's place in the Union.

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Polish PM elected European Council president, Italy's Mogherini to head diplomacy