Two additional years to represent Europe in the Gulf, a testament to a job that has been particularly appreciated by those in the Berlaymont Palace. Despite the long period of power vacuum and the change at the top of the community, the EU has officially requested the confirmation of Luigi Di Maio as Special Representative in the Gulf. It did so last December 20, in a letter that remained secret for almost a month and signed by the High Representative Kaja Kallas. For the former Italian Foreign Minister, the official green light is now just around the corner, also because, so far, the Meloni government has not raised any objections to his confirmation.

" His excellent performance has contributed significantly to advancing cooperation between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council and has played a key role in developing regional and bilateral cooperation with the Gulf countries in the fields of political consultations, security dialogue, trade and investment, green energy and people-to-people relations," Kallas wrote in the letter, seen by ANSA and previewed by Il Foglio. The letter was sent to the Permanent Representatives of the 27 member countries and presumably followed informal contacts that the EU had with the governments.

It is possible that, although neither party has ever mentioned it, the dossier was also among those discussed during the bilateral meeting in Rome last week between Kallas and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Certainly, asking for the appointment or official confirmation of a Special Representative by the EU, in fact, shields the person directly concerned. The final technical act will be up to the Middle East and Gulf Group (MOG) within the EU Council. The subsequent steps in the meetings of the Representatives of the 27 will be only formal. Di Maio, barring any surprises, will be the EU's envoy to the Gulf until 28 February 2027, at a time when the area is crucial in every respect for Europe and while a profound geopolitical change is taking place in those latitudes.

Di Maio had been indicated as envoy to the Gulf in April 2023, already with Meloni in government but at the end of an informal dialogue with the EU - then the High Representative was Josep Borrell - which he had in the final stages of the Draghi government . In October 2024, in Brussels, the first summit between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council was held. In the coming months, Di Maio will presumably have to work closely with the Special Representative for the Middle East that Kallas in the same letter indicated as necessary together with his counterparts for Central Asia and for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue.

(Online Union)

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