Herman Van Rompuy 2007, was elected as the President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, succeeding Herman De Croo. On 28 December 2008, following the 2007–2008 Belgian political crisis, was asked by King Albert II to form a new government after he was reluctant to take up the role of prime minister. He was sworn in as Belgian prime minister on 30 December 2008. On 13 October 2009 Bloomberg reported that the government of would seek to tax banks and nuclear power to tame the deficit. "We are in the early stages of a recovery and at this time it is important not
Federica Mogherini Nonetheless, on 2 August 2014, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi formally nominated her by letter to EC President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker, as Italy's official candidate for EU Commissioner. On 30 August, Europe's socialist Prime Ministers met prior to the convening of the European Council, at which she received the approval of the Party of European Socialists. On the same day the President Herman Van Rompuy announced that the European Council had decided to appoint the Italian Minister as its new High Representative, effective from 1 November 2014. The group of commissioners involved in external relations — neighborhood and EU enlargement, trade,