Herman Van Rompuy, Europe's first president, is to join forces with the European Commission to push for sweeping new tax raising powers for Brussels.

Brescia, 18 Nov. (AKI) - The mayor of the small town of Coccaglio, located in the northern Italian region of Lombardy has launched a campaign to "clean-up" the city of immigrants, ahead of the Christian holidays next month, Italian media said on Wednesday.

Herman Van Rompuy. Get used to the name. He is the first President of the European Union, which with the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon by all the 27 EU member states in early November was transformed into a genuine United States of Europe.

The BBC and others are reporting on the increasingly fraught negotiations in the EU over the selection of a European Council president.

Italy is to push for the creation of a European Army after the "new Europe" takes shape at this week's crucial EU summit following the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty.