Carl Hartzell (born 4 May 1967) is a Swedish diplomat, currently serving as Deputy Director-General and Head of Department for Multilateral Governance and Humanitarian Policy at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. After an early career in his home country in the 1990s, Hartzell subsequently held a number of positions in the European Union diplomatic service and, also, served as Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia from 2018 to 2022.
Born in Stockholm, Hartzell obtained a Master's Degree from the Stockholm School of Economics and started his career at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters in 1993, followed by one year at the Ministry of Defence in 1996, and three years at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm from 1997 to 1999. He then held a number of positions in Brussels, both in EU institutions and as a Swedish diplomat, including as Member of the EU Policy Unit under High Representative Javier Solana (1999-2005), Minister Counsellor, Deputy Representative to the EU Political and Security Committee at the Swedish Permanent Representation to EU (2005–2011), Member of Cabinet of High Representative / Vice President Catherine Ashton (2012–2013), Senior Adviser to the Deputy Secretary General of the EU External Action Service (2013–2014), and Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk (2014–2018). [1] He also served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Wyoming, USA (2011-2012).
In September 2018, Hartzell was appointed EU Ambassador to Georgia, succeeding the Hungarian diplomat Janos Herman in this position. [2] In December 2019 he initiated a political dialogue between all the major political parties, which resulted in a cross-party agreement on 8 March 2020. Following contested parliamentary elections in September 2020, Ambassador Hartzell was again called on to facilitate a political agreement between the political parties, which he carried out together with his US counterpart, Ambassador Kelly Degnan. Following an intervention by European Council President Charles Michel, Ambassador Hartzell participated to EU-led mediation efforts that resulted in the agreement “A Way Ahead For Georgia” on 19 April 2021. [3] Following the decision taken by the ruling Georgian Dream party to leave the agreement, and after Georgia, in contrast to fellow former Soviet Union republics, Ukraine and Moldova, was not granted a EU candidate status in June 2022, Hartzell said Georgia could have been "better prepared" for its membership bid, "as it comes at a time when the EU is increasingly concerned about the country's current trajectory," hinting to the concerns over democratic backsliding under the Georgian Dream government. [4] In response, the Georgian Dream party chairman Irakli Kobakhidze denounced Hartzell as having "played a strictly negative role in relations between the European Union and Georgia" in July 2022, being promptly rebuked by the EU's Lead Spokesperson for External Affairs Peter Stano who made a statement in support of Hartzell. [5] Ambassador Hartzell's tenure in Georgia expired in August 2022, when he was succeeded by the Polish diplomat Pawel Herczyński. [6]
Nils Daniel Carl Bildt is a Swedish politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994. He led the Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, appearing at its lead candidate in four general elections, before his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt from 2006 to 2014. Bildt first entered the Riksdag in 1979, holding a seat until 2001. A member of the Bildt family, he is a great-great grandson of Baron Gillis Bildt, who was Prime Minister of Sweden from 1888 to 1889.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held by Kaja Kallas.
The former European Community and Georgia established relations in 1992. After the Maastricht Treaty on creation of the European Union, Georgia deepened its ties with the EU through a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) signed in 1996. In 2006, a five-year "Action Plan" of rapprochement was implemented in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). In 2009, relations between the two were further upgraded under the auspices of Eastern Partnership. In 2016, a comprehensive Association Agreement between the EU and Georgia went into force, providing Georgian citizens with visa-free travel to the EU, as well as access to some sectors of the European Single Market. Following Brexit, most of the existing EU-Georgia agreements applicable to the United Kingdom were renegotiated and agreed upon in 2019 bilaterally with the United Kingdom.
Armenia and the European Union have maintained positive relations over the years. Both parties are connected through the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which was signed in 2017. Former Armenian foreign minister Eduard Nalbandyan expressed confidence that the new partnership agreement would "open a new page" in EU–Armenia relations. Meanwhile, the former High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini concluded in June 2019, that Armenia–EU relations are on an "excellent" level. Should either Georgia or Turkey, who are candidates for EU membership, accede to the EU, Armenia will border the European Union.
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Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a populist political party in Georgia. It is currently the ruling party in Georgia. Irakli Garibashvili serves as the party chairman, while the former chairman Irakli Kobakhidze has served as the prime minister since February 2024. Bidzina Ivanishvili, widely considered the de facto leader of the party, serves as its honorary chairman.
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Individuals and events related to Georgia in 2022.
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