EU appoints new EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia

On 26 July, the Council of the European Union appointed a new EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia.

Magdalena Grono will succeed Toivo Klaar, whose tenure of over six years comes to an end on 31 August. She will take up her duties on 1 September 2024 for an initial period of 12 months.

“As new EUSR, Magdalena Grono will continue the work of her predecessors, contributing to the implementation of the EU foreign policy objectives in the region. She will contribute to the peaceful settlement of conflicts, including the crisis in Georgia and the normalisation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in close coordination with the UN and the OSCE,” the Council of the EU said in a press release.

According to the press release, Grono will engage with the main actors in the region and will develop contacts with governments, parliaments, other key political actors and civil society, encouraging and facilitating cooperation on regional themes of common interest.

Magdalena Grono, a Czech national, currently serves as Chief Diplomatic Adviser to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. She has worked on foreign policy and conflict resolution issues for the past 25 years, including in high-level diplomatic posts for the EU as well as in think-tank capacities, with a strong emphasis on the former Soviet space and the South Caucasus in particular. 

Before joining President Michel’s Cabinet, she was a foreign policy adviser to former President of the European Council Donald Tusk. Previously, she was the Europe and Central Asia Director at the International Crisis Group.

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Press release