Swedish Diplomat Becomes EU’s New Envoy in South Caucasus

Swedish diplomat Peter Semneby has been appointed the new European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the South Caucasus, replacing Heikki Talvitie, the EU chief of foreign policy Javier Solana’s press office reported on February 22.

According to this report, a mandate by Ambassador Semneby, who previously served as Head of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, will include:

• assisting Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in carrying out political and economic reforms, notably in the fields of rule of law, democratization, human rights, good governance, development and poverty reduction;

• preventing conflicts in the region and contributing to the peaceful settlement of conflicts, including through promoting the return of refugees and internally displaced persons;

• and encouraging and supporting further cooperation between States of the region, including on economic, energy and transport issues.

The EU has had a Special Representative for the South Caucasus since July 2003, when it appointed Heikki Talvitie.

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