An Italian appointed as EU special envoy to Kosovo? (Shift)
(BRUSSELS2) The Italian Fernando Gentilini could be appointed as the EU's special envoy - on an interim basis (three months) - in Kosovo, according to a European source. The mandate of Pieter Fieth ends in effect at the end of April. And there would be no question of renewing it. The Dutchman would however remain at the head of the International Civil Office (ICO) of the United Nations. This would thus signal the end of the double EU/International hat before... possibly opening a second one. A call for candidates has in fact been made to fill the post of head of the EU liaison office in Pristina, which is a delegation without saying so (5 EU states still do not recognize Kosovo, it is impossible to properly establish an EU Delegation/Embassy).
Gentilini is no stranger to Kosovo, a region he surveyed in the 2000s, and he seems to remain very involved on the ground, particularly in the latest discussions between Belgrade and Pristina (conducted under the aegis of the Union European Union by Robert Cooper, Advisor to the High Representative, Cathy Ashton). Born in Subiaco (Rome) in March 1962, a law graduate from the University of Rome, Fernando Gentilini embarked on a diplomatic career in 1990, after a (short) military service as an artillery lieutenant (in 1987). After a stint in the central service in Rome in the human resources department, he worked in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, from 1992), at the permanent representation to the EU in Brussels (first secretary from the end of 1996) and joined the Council's Policy and Early Warning Unit (EU Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit) from the start, in December 1999. Then began a career closely linked to the Balkans. He became director of the Balkans department at the Italian foreign ministry in December 2002. In March 2004, he was appointed Javier Solana's personal representative in Kosovo. In October 2004, he was seriously injured in a road accident near Mitrovica and had to be evacuated. He will then be assigned to the Political Unit of the Council. Deputy diplomatic adviser to Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi (from August 2006 to 2008), he was appointed in July 2008 to another high-risk post, as High Civilian Representative of NATO in Afghanistan (until January 2010).
NB: We can notice that Fernando Gentilini will find another EU special envoy on the other side of the border, his compatriot Ettore Sequi who officiates at the EU embassy in Tirana (Albania), as well as Miroslav Lajcak who now heads the Balkans department at the Diplomatic Service and was in the 2000s ambassador of his country, Slovakia, to Serbia and Albania (therefore in charge of Kosovo).
(Update 6 May) The nomination of F. Gentilini was adopted in the form of a decision by written procedure by the Council of the EU on 6 May. This discussion has dragged on for two reasons. Some countries (notably the United Kingdom) still had some reluctance or, at least, questions about decoupling the two posts of EU special envoy and representative of the international community – which remains occupied by Pieter Feith. Other countries (Cyprus, Slovakia, etc.) which did not recognize Kosovo did not want to reopen the debate on the status of the former Serbian province and end up approving a decision, endorsing de facto Kosovo's independence. Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the EU, greeted this appointment with a few words of welcome: “ Fernando Gentilini has an in-depth knowledge of the Western Balkans and of Kosovo in particular, and I look forward to working very closely with him. In his temporary position, he will prepare for a strengthened and long-term EU presence in Kosovo, in line with the Lisbon Treaty and the European perspective of the whole region »
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