EUROPEAN COUNCIL THE PRESIDENT		EN

I wish to express my warmest congratulation to Mr. Romano Prodi on his appointment as the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for the Sahel. The leadership and extensive experience of Romano Prodi will greatly contribute to mobilize the international response in addressing the challenges of the region.

As I said in my intervention at the High-Level on the Sahel on September 26 in New York, the European Union is strongly committed to supporting the region, in the spirit of national ownership and in partnership with regional and international actors. I reiterated EU's readiness to act and to cooperate with the UN Special envoy and all the international partners.

The appointment of Romano Prodi is good news for Europe and for Africa.