Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Russia is ready to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, raising its target from 15 percent just weeks ahead of a UN climate summit, the EU said Wednesday.

EU criticism of Russia's human rights record and fears Moscow will delay its WTO entry clouded EU-Russia talks Wednesday, but the two sides aligned on the climate ahead of the Copenhagen conference in December.

EU criticism of Russia's human rights record and fears Moscow will delay its WTO entry clouded EU-Russia talks Wednesday, but the two sides aligned on the climate ahead of the Copenhagen conference in December.

EU criticism of Russia's rights record and fears Moscow will delay its WTO entry clouded EU-Russia talks Wednesday, but the two sides aligned on climate issues ahead of a key summit in December.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Russia toughened its plans to curb harmful greenhouse gas emissions on Wednesday in a rare encouraging development before United Nations climate talks next month.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc's first president on Thursday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the world stage.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc's first president on Thursday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the world stage.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union says it finally has the answer to a question long attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: Who do I call if I want to call Europe?

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.

EU leaders on Thursday picked little known Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

EU leaders picked little known Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

EU leaders picked little known Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc's first president on Thursday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the world stage.

Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile Friday as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile Friday as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Europe, which hopes to be a model for the world at UN climate talks in Copenhagen in December, is squabbling internally over who cuts what and who pays for it.

Many world leaders support earmarking $100 billion annually to curb global warning. Many world leaders have expressed support for a proposal that would earmark $100 billion a year for the next decade for concrete actions to curb greenhouse gases and help countries cope with the impact of climate change, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

Comments on Irish 'yes' to Lisbon Treaty, the blueprint for EU reforms. Reaction to Ireland's 'yes' vote to the Lisbon Treaty: