EU Names Danish Diplomat Thomas Ferlens as New Special Envoy for Afghanistan
The European Union has appointed Danish diplomat Thomas Ferlens as its new special envoy for Afghanistan, a move that shows Brussels is seeking to keep its channel for following policy toward Afghanistan active after the political changes of recent years.
Ferlens wrote on his personal account on the social media platform X on Friday evening, Oct. 8, that he had formally begun his mission. In his first post, he stressed that Afghanistan and its people, especially women and girls, would remain at the centre of the EU’s attention, a position the bloc has repeated several times over the past two years.
The appointment comes after the end of the mission of French diplomat Gilles Bertrand, who stepped down from the post of special envoy in late September and handed the responsibility to Ferlens. With this change, the EU wants to align its engagement with Afghanistan’s “new and complex” situation.
Meanwhile, Thomas Nicholason, the EU’s former envoy for Afghanistan, said in response to the appointment that Ferlens is tasked with continuing EU support for Afghanistan’s women, men and children and advancing the bloc’s talks with the United Nations and other key partners. According to him, the new envoy should pursue “principled engagement” with Afghanistan on the basis of decisions by the Council of the European Union.
Ferlens previously worked in the EU’s External Action Service and also headed the political section of the European Commission’s delegation in Moscow. In recent years, the EU has sought to shape its policy on Afghanistan with an emphasis on human rights and the situation of women and girls, and through international talks.
