Brown meeting EU President

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will hold talks with European Union President Herman van Rompuy in Downing Street today for the first time since the Belgian’s controversial appointment last year.

Mr van Rompuy became the first permanent president of the EU in November in the same manoeuvre that led to Britain’s Cathy Ashton becoming high representative for foreign affairs.

A former prime minister of Belgium, he was relatively unknown on the international stage and has since kept a low profile.

He and the Mr Brown are expected to discuss jobs and growth, the declared priorities of Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who has recently taken up the revolving EU presidency.

“The Prime Minister is very keen that the ideas he wants to be on the agenda are pushed forward,” Mr Brown’s spokesman said.

They are also likely to talk about the situation in crisis-stricken Haiti after last week’s devastating earthquake.