Germany, the largest EU country, feels like it has been "bamboozled" by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Ewald König, chief editor of EurActiv Germany, reports from Berlin.
Although official reactions were positive (except from the Greens), König says diplomats and media were in fact shocked by the nomination of Herman Van Rompuy as the EU's first permanent president and Catherine Ashton as High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
According to well-placed sources, Germany's ideal candidates were Luxembourg's long-serving Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker and former Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel.
The disappointment in Berlin is even greater because the top foreign affairs job went to a Brit. The fact that Ashton has limited experience in foreign affairs appears to be a secondary concern, the main one being that the British "did not deserve" such a prominent position due to their anti-European politics, EurActiv Germany writes.
As no-one knows these "two nobodies", citizens' general impression was confirmed that backstage deals are the rule in Brussels, EurActiv Germany reports.
France: Hitting the bottom?
In France, only ruling centre-right politicians welcomed the decision to appoint Van Rompuy as Council president.
EurActiv France quotes former Socialist Prime Minister Michel Rocard as saying that the decision to appoint a "newcomer" to EU Council meetings was not a good one.
Van Rompuy, who became prime minister in December 2008, has indeed attended few Council meetings so far.
In his usual provocative style, Greens co-president Daniel Cohn Bendit said "Europe reached rock bottom" by electing Van Rompuy.
François Bayrou, leader of the centrist Modem party, said Van Rompuy was chosen because he would "not overshadow" any other national leader.
Belgium: National pride
In Belgium, a feeling of national pride prevailed, as politicians across party lines hailed Van Rompuy's appointment by calling him "a man of dialogue".
However, some political parties, as well as ordinary citizens, expressed concern that the departure of Van Rompuy from the national scene could complicate ongoing renewed efforts to reform the constitution and re-balance power in the country.
Newspapers widely report that the next prime minister is likely to be Yves Leterme, who failed to soothe the country's inter-community tensions when he resigned from power a year ago. Belgians have mixed feelings about Van Rompuy "going to Europe" as they will miss him on the national scene, the papers said.
US: Misunderstanding representation
Across the Atlantic, the Wall Street Journal said Van Rompuy and Ashton's appointments conveyed the message that Europe is for everyone, "including the small, the meek and the female". However, in an editorial entitled 'Europe's grey mice', it added that the Europe's leadership seems to misunderstand the idea of "representation" in government.
"Being one's 'representative' does not lie in sharing some quantum of the population's ethnicity, creed, ideology or anatomy. It comes from being chosen by those people for whom you purport to speak," the influential US daily writes.
Eastern Europe: Traffic stopper?
In Eastern Europe in general, Van Rompuy is not seen as a "man who can stop the traffic," according to the now-infamous statement by UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband. As some bloggers put it, he and Ashton are rather seen as a pair who would even find it difficult "to hail a cab".
Predictably, official reactions to Van Rompuy's appointment were moderate.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said before the summit that the president should be more than a coordinator and should be respected internationally, EurActiv Slovakia reports. After the summit, Fico only expressed satisfaction that the Union would now be able to move beyond the institutional issues which had bothered EU leaders for so long.
Jan Figel', the former Slovak EU commissioner and current leader of the Christian Democrats (KDH, EPP-affiliated), highlighted Van Rompuy's handling of the political negotiations in Belgium, even though he acknowledged he could also have imagined "another name in the post".
Boris Zala, an MEP from the ruling Smer party (S&D-affiliated), said he did not see any symbolism in the appointments and expressed doubt as to whether citizens would be able to identify with the choice of Van Rompuy and Ashton.
Former Slovak foreign minister Eduard Kukan, also an MEP (EPP-affiliated), was surprised by Ashton's nomination as he considers her to be a somewhat unknown person.
The Polish press was rather critical of the top appointments. However, unlike commentators in Germany, Polish media think this was a victory for the Franco-German engine.
"The decision to appoint Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton as Europe's new leaders is a bad one, and Poland is among the losers," the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita wrote, adding: "The Franco-German tandem and the women's lobby in the Union won".
As Poland had appealed for discussions to be held with the candidates before making the appointments, Rzeczpospolita goes further: "Poland, which had striven to make the process of enthroning the 'president' of Europe more democratic, comes out the loser."
'Not overheating' the engine
In Bulgaria, where Prime Minister Boyko Borissov had clearly spoken of his preference for Jean-Claude Juncker as Council president, Van Rompuy was perceived as "second choice".
Svetoslav Terziev, a columnist at the daily Sega, writes however that the modest result of the latest EU summit should not be a cause for regret. "There is no use in pushing Europe's engine too hard when there is a risk of over-heating," he argued.
The commentator adds that the idea of putting in place a 'Mr. Europe' is already so revolutionary that the position needs to "mature" before it is embodied by a "European leader".
Stanley Crossick, founding chairman of European Policy Centre, voiced similar views.
"There is a good argument for saying that two low-key appointees are more likely to construct the necessary basis for a stronger and more unified role for the EU on the world stage," Crossick argues in his blog, adding that high-profile appointees "would have put the leaders of the big member states on their guard".
"If all goes well, a high profile foreign policy chief will be acceptable in 2015," Crossick predicts.
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