European Council European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent president (resigning from Belgian Prime Minister). The European Council is an official institution of the EU, mentioned by the Lisbon Treaty as a body which "shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development". Essentially it defines the EU's policy agenda and has thus been considered to be the motor of European integration. Beyond the need to provide "impetus", the Council has developed further roles: to "settle issues outstanding from discussions at a lower level", to lead in foreign policy — acting externally
Political positions of David Cameron of view. President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power on 21 February by the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov, the screenwriter and economist, and the Yatsenyuk Government was endorsed by the Rada. At a European Council summit in Brussels on 21 March 2014, new Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk and European Union leaders Herman Van Rompuy and José Manuel Barroso, along with the 27 national political leaders or heads of state on the Council, which included Cameron, signed the political provisions of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement. The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area was to be