After weeks of intense speculation, it is now known that Herman Van Rompuy will be the European Council President, and Catherine Ashton will be the EU’s foreign affairs chief. The question of precisely what powers these two individuals will exercise under the new Treaty of Lisbon, however, remains largely unanswered, as it is not yet clear how they will perform as individuals and in tandem. In this Policy Brief drafted in the days immediately following the selection of these two leaders, CEPS researchers Piotr Maciej Kaczyński & Peadar ó Broin, attempt to give at least a general indication of the two leaders’ powers and remit.