Ferrero-Waldner holds cabinet reshuffle

Change is afoot in the office of Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European commissioner for external relations. On 1 April, Frenchman Vincent Guerend is to be promoted to deputy head of cabinet, replacing Peter Schwaiger, who is preparing to become the head of a Commission delegation. Guerend will retain his current responsibilities for Asia policy, while Schwaiger's principal dossiers, European Neighbour-hood Policy and Latin America, are redistributed. Belén Martínez Carbonell, the cabinet's native Spanish speaker will have a clean sweep of Spanish interests – the south Mediterranean, Middle East and Latin America.
Neighbourhood policy will be looked after by Emma Udwin, who is joining the cabinet from the press service, where the ex-BBC reporter was spokeswoman for Ferrero-Waldner and before that for Chris Patten. She will also take on transatlantic relations and energy policy. Ferrero-Waldner's spokes-woman will be German-seconded diplomat Christiane Hohmann, currently in DG Relex.