Bartjan Wegter, a senior Dutch diplomat, has been appointed as the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator (EU CTC). His five-year term will commence on 1 March 2024, succeeding Ilkka Salmi, who has held the office since October 2021.
Wegter, until his appointment as EU CTC, served as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to NATO. A graduate from Leyden University and the College of Europe, Wegter has held various multilateral and security-related positions over a diplomatic career spanning 25 years.
The EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator is tasked with coordinating counter-terrorism work within the EU, ensuring the implementation and evaluation of the EU Counter-Terrorism strategy, integrating the internal and external aspects of the fight against terrorism, and improving communication between the EU and third countries.
The position of EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator was established by the European Council following the terrorist attack in Madrid on 11 March 2004. The EU CTC advances EU efforts in combating terrorism, briefs the Council, maintains an overview of all the instruments at the EU’s disposal, and ensures an effective follow-up to Council decisions. His tasks also include presenting policy recommendations and proposing priority areas for action to the Council, coordinating with the relevant preparatory bodies of the Council, the European Commission, the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the relevant EU bodies, offices, and agencies.
Bartjan Wegter, 56, is a Dutch national and senior diplomat. Raised in Brussels where he attended the European School, he studied in The Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium and holds degrees in political science from Leyden University and in European affairs from the College of Europe in Bruges. He joined The Netherlands MFA in 1998 and has held various multilateral and security-related positions. He is an experienced negotiator and public speaker with expertise on a wide range of issues in the field of security and defense, as well as EU integration, UN affairs, transatlantic relations, peacebuilding, and migration. He speaks Dutch, French, English, German, Italian, and Spanish. Bartjan currently lives in Brussels, where his wife is also working as a diplomat, and they have three children.
