Re 1, as I wrote elsewhere, there might be a language issue here: in English, "EU President" is really the most economical -- though at least "Council President" should not be that difficult... --, in German however, Ratspräsident beats even EU-Präsident.

EU Premier or President

IMO, not an insignificant difference -- and given that Ireland has both, such a confusion is the more glaring. The EU's de-facto Premier is the President of the Commission, and that regardless of whether the President of the European Council will remain the low-key chairman or be turned into an "EU President" as per Bliar's and Sarko's wishes.

Some Federalist EU supporters mights like the post to evolve into "the public face of the EU"

Nah, more the Confederationists: the intergovermentalists.

it reflects a yearning for a more accessible, visible, accountable and coherent face of the EU

How will a Council President Blair be a more accessible, visible, accountable and coherent face of the EU than a Commission President Barroso?

And why hasn't this yearning you analyse materialise in a practice to call Barroso EU Premier?

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}