New EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process appointed

Today the Council appointed Mr Sven Koopmans as the EU's Special Representative (EUSR) for the Middle East Peace Process from 1 May 2021 to 28 February 2023.

Mr Koopmans is a peace negotiation specialist, senior diplomat, national politician, and international lawyer. Between 2017 and 2021 he was a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands, where he was spokesperson on foreign affairs and head of delegation in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Before that he worked for the European Union, the United Nations and other international organisations on peace processes for Cyprus, Kosovo, Mali, Sudan and Syria, among others. The mandate of the EUSR for the Middle East Peace Process is to provide an active contribution to the final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on a two-state solution, in line with the UNSCR 2334 (2016). The EUSR will maintain close contacts with all parties in the peace process as well as with the United Nations and other relevant organisations such as the League of Arab States. The EUSR will also support the work of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on this issue and maintain an overview of all EU regional activities linked to the Middle East Peace Process.