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
Herman Van Rompuy After this second mandate he could not have been re-elected because the European Council President's term of office can only be extended once. Herman Van Rompuy was also appointed as the first President of the Euro Summit, and this for the same term of office as his Presidency of the European Council. The Euro Summit meetings are to take place at least twice a year. In 2014, Van Rompuy was awarded the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen for his EU role. Although the European Council is, under the terms of the Lisbon treaty, a separate institution of the EU, it