Europe News

Jun 30, 2009, 15:04 GMT

Former Belgian prime minister Verhofstadt to lead EU liberals

Brussels - Former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, 56, is to head the liberal group in the European Parliament, party officials said Tuesday. Verhofstadt, who headed the Belgian government from July 1999 to March 2008, was appointed to the task by unanimous acclaim, a party spokesman told the German Press Agency dpa. Following elections on June 4-7, the liberals are the third- largest group in the parliament, with 80 out of a total of 736 members. However, they are far behind the conservatives (264 seats) and the socialists (183 seats). The group's leader during the 2004-09 legislature, Graham Watson, is contending for the post of parliamentary president. Verhofstadt is a popular figure in his homeland, where he is regarded as one of the few politicians of modern times who has managed to bridge the gap between Belgium's fractious French- and Dutch-speaking communities. He was the front-runner to become the head of the EU's executive in 2004, but was vetoed by Britain in the diplomatic row which followed the Iraq war.

And Also

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups - PopEater
GASP: Goldstriker creates world's most expensive iPhone - The Tech Herald
Corey Feldman, Bronson Pinchot, and Brian OÂ’Halloran Are Hooking Up On DVD - Cinema Blend
Guide to Avoiding Red Carpet Faux Pas - PopEater
A&E series 'Hoarders' and 'Intervention' premiere Monday, Nov. 30th, preview

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

European Parliament gets its first Polish president (Roundup)
European Parliament gets its first Polish president (1st Lead)
European Parliament to get its first Polish president
European Parliament prevents extremist Le Pen from chairing meeting
European far-right group dissolved after "xenophobic" row

Latest Headlines in Europe

Older Talkback

Europe: Index

: News; Features; Video News

Latest Pics

From Sites we Like

Pictures of the ugly ass bonobo born at the Jacksonville Zoo [Florida]
The choice is to save your wife or your son. This man had to make that choice. What would you do? [Sad]
While news organizations were trying to figure out how two people slipped past the Secret Service to crash a state dinner, CNN was scooping them all on the real story of the day: Menugate [Fail]

More Not News from Fark

In Monsters and Critics

: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Lifestyle; Movies; Music; News; People; Science & Nature; Sport; TV; Archives
Other Languages and Sites: Deutschland (Monsters and Critics); The Tech Herald; Free Games

Entertainment: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Movies; Music; People; Soundtracks; TV
Media: Celebrity Photos; Movie Pictures; Movie Trailers; Movie Posters; Theatre Stills; Celebrity Video; Music Video
Released this week: Movies - USA; Movies - UK; DVD - USA
Distractions: Online Games; Daily Crossword; Sudoku Classic; Daily Jigsaw

World News: US; UK; Americas; Europe; Middle East; Asia Pacific; South Asia; Africa; Business; Education; Health
Science and Tech: Science and Nature; Technology
Lifestyle: Autos; Fashion; Life; Travel

Corporate

: About; Advertise; Contact; The Team; Vacancies; Privacy; RSS; Site Map; Terms; Webmasters

The Fine Print

© 2003 - 2009 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. * Note M&C cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint