Ilkka Salmi appointed Director of the EU Situation Centre

Press release 270/2010
17 December 2010

Ilkka Salmi, Director of the Finnish Security Police (Suojelupoliisi) has been appointed to head the EU Situation Centre, which is part of the new European External Action Service.

The Situation Centre, which Salmi is to lead, monitors the international security situation and assesses terrorist threats to the EU. It also has close connections with national security authorities, such as the Finnish Security Police in Finland. The Director of the EU Situation Centre reports directly to the top management of the European External Action Service and High Representative Catherine Ashton.

The appointment is one of several appointments to high posts within the European External Action Service. So far, appointments have been made to the following posts: Executive Secretary General (Pierre Vimont); Deputy Secretary Generals (Maciej Popowski, Helga Schmid); Chief Operating Officer (David O'Sullivan); Managing Director for Russia, Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans (Miroslav Lajcák); Managing Director for the Americas (Christian Leffler); Managing Director for Crisis Response and Operational Coordination (Agostino Miozzo); Permanent Chair of the EU Political and Security Committee (Olof Skoog); and now, Ilkka Salmi. Some top posts in the European External Action Service are still unfilled.

The European External Action Service began operations officially on 1 December 2010. Salmi rises to head the EU Situation Centre from the post of Director of the Finnish Security Police (Suojelupoliisi), a position he has held since 2007. His appointment continues the recent appointments of Finns to high posts, including that of Reijo Kemppinen as the European Council’s Director-General for Press and Communication and Brigadier General Jukka Savolainen as Head of the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan. About twenty Finns are now in the employ of the European External Action Service.

According to Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, Finnish government leaders will continue on a full front to lobby for the appointment of Finns to important positions in the EU.

“Salmi is a skilled, internationally esteemed professional. The success of Finns is always something to celebrate! We can be really pleased with the outcome achieved thus far,” Stubb said emphatically.

Additional information: Ilkka Salmi, mobile tel. +358 50 350 0893, Senior Specialist Henrik Ruso, mobile tel. +32 475 753 031, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 732 8340