Christian Danielsson appointed EU mediator in Georgia

Following the arrest of the opposition leader Niki Melia in the end of February, the political crisis has emerged in Georgia with escalated tensions between the government and the opposition. The president of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel, visited Tbilisi in the beginning of March to facilitate a dialogue between political stakeholders in Georgia. Now, he has appointed Swedish diplomat Christian Danielsson as his special envoy to engage in EU-backed dialogues between the government and the opposition. Mr. Danielsson, who currently heads the EU Commissions representation in Sweden, has previously served as deputy secretary general for the commission as well as director-general for neighbourhood and enlargement negotiations. He is expected to visit Georgia in the coming days. His appointment has been welcomed by the president of Georgia, Ms. Salome Zurabishvili.