Dual presidency plan wins qualified support

At talks in Paris on 14 January 2003, President Jacques Chirac of France and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Germany agreed on a proposal which they feel will strengthen the role of national governments in running the European Union. Under the proposal Europe would be run by two separate presidents - the first, a high-profile European Union president representing Member States as Head of the European Council; the second, Head of the European Commission, directly elected by the European Parliament. The proposed European Union president would become the public face of the European Union and represent it on the world stage as it tries to develop a common foreign policy. There were also plans for a single 'foreign secretary' working under the new European Union president, but based in the European Commission.