Brussels, 19/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 19 September, Javier Solana, High Representative for CFSP and Secretary General of the Council of the European Union, officially appointed Gilles de Kerchove of Belgium as the new EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. “I am convinced that Mr de Kerchove will bring added value to the work of the Council in this key area for the EU and its citizens”, Solana said in a press release. On Tuesday, the 27 agreed to give the post a technical profile, meaning that it will be held by a senior official (EUROPE 9504). The new coordinator will coordinate the work of the 27 in Brussels for application of EU counter-terrorism strategy, within the various working groups or ministerial Councils. Michèle Alliot-Marie, French Interior Minister, confided to a small group of journalists on Tuesday that “it is necessary to have someone who can promote coordination between the various services. Things would have been different if the idea had been to create a European intelligence service, in which case someone from intelligence would have been chosen. But that is not what we want for this person”. (bc)