At a press conference on Thursday evening, the names of the individuals appointed to the top posts discussed at the informal summit between the EU’s heads of state and government, were presented.The two posts are aimed at boosting Europe's clout in the international arena and allowing it to speak with a unified voice to powers like the United States and China.

European leaders chose Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the European Union's first president on Thursday, the EU presidency announced, after Britain dropped its backing for Tony Blair.Britain in exchange secured the prestigious diplomatic post of European foreign policy supremo for its current EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton.

At the informal summit, the leaders also elected deputy secretary general of the Council Pierre de Boissieu from France as general secretary of the Council Secretariat.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hailed the choices, rejecting suggestions, at the post-summit press council, that Ashton was too inexperienced for the job.

Before the decision was reached, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, had expressed concern that some leaders were ready to opt for lowest common denominator candidates.

He said a number of his fellow foreign ministers fear "certain heads of government are leaning towards a minimal solution for the presidency question, which could reduce our chance of having a clear voice in the world.

"This could mean -- from our point of view -- missing a historic occasion," he wrote on his Internet blog.

The three new top posts are regulated by the Lisbon Treaty, which is due to come into force on December 1, 2009. The role of the EU president is to chair the EU's summit, while the foreign policy supremo is to head the EU's foreign policy arm. The foreign policy chief -- who is also to be a member of the executive European Commission -- needs approval from European Commission President Barroso and the European Parliament.