President of the European Council appoints Christian Danielsson to mediate the crisis

On March 9, President of the European Council Charles Michel announced that Christian Danielsson would take on the role of an official mediator of the EU-backed negotiations between the Georgian government and the opposition bloc.

The official statement released by the European Council states that Christian Danielsson will be traveling to Georgia in the nearest future in order to “mediate the relaunched dialogue” between Georgia’s political parties, in close cooperation with the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Carl Hartzel:

“Mr. Danielsson will mediate the relaunched dialogue among Georgia's political parties, working closely with the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Carl Hartzell, with the aim to overcome the current political tensions in Georgia.

Mr. Danielsson will be traveling to Georgia in the coming days to engage with all stakeholders to the process”.

The press release also notes that President Michel and High Representative Borell encourage all parties to fully commit to the dialogue for the sake of the country’s Democratic and European integration aspirations:

“President Michel and the High Representative Borrell encourage all political actors in Georgia to commit fully to the dialogue in a constructive spirit and with a view to pursuing mutually agreeable outcomes, in the interest of a stable, democratic, and reform-oriented Georgia, able to successfully advance on its pro-European path.”

The appointment of Christian Danielsson came shortly after President Charles Michel’s visit to Georgia earlier this month. Upon his arrival on March 1, President Michel arranged the first round of dialogue between the representatives of the Georgian government and the members of the opposition bloc. The meeting ended with the drawing of a draft agenda for further negotiations, as well as six main issues that need to be addressed in order to solve the ongoing crisis.

Christian Danielsson has previously worked as a permanent representative for Sweden, after which he was appointed as secretary-general of the European Commission in 2011. He then took the role of the Director-General for Enlargement in 2013, before taking on the office of the Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations. As of today, Christian Danielsson is serving as the Head of the European Commission's Representation in Sweden.