Danish diplomat Birgitte Nygaard Markussen was appointed on Thursday 23 July by a qualified majority of the Council of the EU as the new European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for the Sahel, succeeding João Cravinho, who has held the post since December 2024. However, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Romania, Slovakia and Spain expressed concerns about the monitoring and transparency of the procedure that led to Ms Markussen’s appointment.
At issue is the decision by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, to submit Ms Markussen’s candidacy to the EU Council at a late stage rather than that of Slovenian candidate Tanja Fajon.
The latter was among the shortlisted candidates, but the new Slovenian government had raised serious reservations with the European External Action Service (EEAS) about the integrity of the national procedure that led to her designation.
According to our information, the Irish Presidency of the Council plans to review the procedures again when meetings resume in September. Ms Markussen will nevertheless take up her duties on 1 September. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)