On Tuesday, 26 March, the Council of the European Union officially appointed a new head of mission for each of the following: the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM Georgia), the EU Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS), and the EU Capacity-Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP Somalia).
A French national, Major General Bettina Boughani of the Gendarmerie will succeed Dimitrios Karabalis, a Greek national, as head of EUMM Georgia for a term running from 21 March to 14 December 2024 (see EUROPE 13111/33). She has solid experience in conflict prevention, notably after having led MINUSMA’s police component in Mali.
From 1 April until the end of June, Karin Limdal of Sweden will succeed Nataliya Apostolova of Bulgaria as head of EUPOL COPPS—an EU mission on which she previously served (see EUROPE 13283/23). She has also held positions that involved planning security and defence policy within the European External Action Service.
Finally, Kęstutis Lančinskas, who is Lithuanian, will lead EUCAP Somalia from 1 May until the end of 2024—replacing Kauko Aaltomaa, who is Finnish (see EUROPE 13300/31). Currently the Lithuanian prime minister’s advisor for national security issues, he was previously vice minister of the interior, responsible for crisis management and border protection. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)