The European Union appointed a new special envoy to the Middle East Thursday, replacing outgoing envoy Susanna Terstal.
The EU’s European Council announced Thursday that it has tapped Sven Koopmans as the new EU Special Representative (EUSR) for the Middle East Peace Process.
Koopmans has been tapped to serve as special envoy from 1 May 2021 to 28 February 2023.
A Dutch politician, Koopmans served as an MP from 2017 to 2021, and served as a spokesman on foreign affairs and headed the Dutch delegation in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Before that he worked for the European Union, the United Nations and other international organisations on peace processes for Cyprus, Kosovo, Mali, Sudan and Syria, among others.
Koopmans predecessor, Terstal, had originally been appointed to serve until the end of February 2020, but continued on until 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.