IP/09/762 Brussels, 13 May 2009 Stefano Sannino appointed Deputy Director-General for External Relations Today the European Commission appointed Mr Stefano Sannino as Deputy Director-General of the Directorate-General for External Relations (DG RELEX). He will be responsible for relations with Asia and Latin America. In his new role, Mr Sannino will be in charge of the European Union's bilateral and regional relations with the countries of Latin America and Asia, with the exception of Japan and South Korea. He will establish the strategic positions to take when negotiating and implementing international agreements, and will oversee various types of cooperation programmes with the countries in his portfolio. Mr Sannino, a 49-year-old Italian, is currently director for Latin America and acting deputy director-general at the External Relations DG. Stefano Sannino joined the European Commission in 2002 as an adviser for external relations and trade in the cabinet of President Romano Prodi. In this capacity, he was the president's representative (sherpa) to the G8. In 2005, he was appointed director for the crisis platform and representative to the political and security committee, within the External Relations DG. From 2006 to 2008 he was seconded to the office of the Italian prime minister as G8 sherpa and principal adviser for EU and international affairs, before returning to the Commission in 2008 as director for Latin America. Prior to his career at the Commission, Mr Sannino held various positions with the Italian ministry of foreign affairs and ministry of foreign trade. Among other postings, he was deputy head of mission at the Italian embassy in Belgrade (1993–95) and head of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2001–02). Mr Sannino will take up his new duties in the coming weeks. .