Javier SOLANA, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), congratulated Colonel Alain FAUGERAS who today is taking office as the new Head of the EUBAM Rafah Mission. He succeeds General Pietro PISTOLESE. Javier SOLANA made the following comments: "Colonel Faugeras' extensive police background acquired in the French Gendarmerie and his international experience makes him most suitable for the new position he takes up today. Colonel Alain Faugeras can count on my full support and that of the European Union as a whole in the fulfilment of his new responsibilities. I also would like to warmly thank General Pietro Pistolese for his dedication and the excellent work he carried out as the head of EUBAM Rafah since it was launched in November 2005. The mission has been instrumental in allowing thousands of people to cross the border at Rafah. Since the closure of the crossing point, the mission has maintained its operational capability and the European Union is prepared to redeploy its personnel at the border as soon as conditions permit"
