Mr. Pedro Serrano, Deputy Secretary General for Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and Crisis Response, European External Action Service, visited the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia on 20 March 2019.
The EUMM Head of Mission, Mr.
Erik Høeg, welcomed and briefed the
Deputy Secretary General at the Mission Headquartes
in Tbilisi. Mr. Serrano met with the Mission’s senior management, addressed the
EUMM staff, and joined patrols to the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with the
breakaway region of South Ossetia.
During the patrols in the areas of responsibility of
Gori and Mtskheta Field Offices, Mr. Serrano was briefed on the general
security situation in the area and had the opportunity to observe ‘borderisation’ along the Administrative
Boundary Line with South Ossetia. The Deputy Secretary General spoke with
Georgian media about the European Union’s approach towards the Caucasus region
and the situation in Georgia.
Mr Serrano expressed his gratitude for the role of
the EUMM in monitoring the implementation of the six-point agreement signed in
August 2008, as the only international presence on the ground. He emphasized
the role of the EUMM for stability and confidence building.
Background
information:
Mr Pedro Serrano is an EU
Official and Spanish Career Diplomat. Since November 2015, he is the Deputy
Secretary General for CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) and Crisis
Response, European External Action Service. Previously, he served in different
positions in the external service for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain
and at the European External Action Service Headquarters in Brussels. He has a
degree in law from Universidad Complutense Madrid.
EUMM Georgia is one of 10 civilian crisis
management missions presently deployed by the EU under the CSDP framework. The
Mission was launched in order to ensure that parties complied with the Six
Point Agreement that ended the 2008 war between Russia and Gerogia.
Since 1 October 2008, the Mission has been patrolling day and night to
ensure there is no return to hostilities, to facilitate the resumption of a
safe and normal life for the local population living in areas adjacent to the
Administrative Boundary Lines with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, and to build confidence among the conflict parties. In addition, the
Mission assists EU decision makers in shaping EU policy on Georgia and the
wider region.
