EU chooses Italian negotiator as EU Middle East envoy
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The European Union chose on Monday a veteran Italian negotiator as the bloc's special representative to the Middle East, a decision EU officials said had no bearing on the role of former British prime minister Tony Blair in the region. The EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, picked Fernando Gentilini, an EU official who has worked for NATO in Afghanistan, for the special representative role, and she said her choice was supported by EU foreign ministers.
"We are looking very closely how to revive the role of the (Middle East) quartet, starting with the role of the European Union," Mogherini told a news conference, adding that on the issue of Blair there was "no issue of (his) resignation".
