The appointment of Herman van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton to the European Union's top spots has many scratching their heads. The two are relatively unknown, but expectations are so low, they can only exceed them.

After the European Union's top level positions were appointed, European parliamentarian Andrew Duff merely said out loud what many were already thinking: "It's not very exciting," said the Brit.

The European public has already had weeks to accustom themselves to the E.U.'s new president, the pale Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy. The 62-year-old proved himself a capable crisis manager after holding together a shaky five-party coalition in his native country, making him a favorite choice for the office.

However, the big surprise came with the appointment of Catherine Ashton as the E.U.'s new foreign representative. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pulled her name from the hat at the last minute of Thursday's special E.U. summit. Ashton herself was taken by surprise - that morning she had no idea her name was even an option.