EU chief for Asia-Pacific set to leave role after China summit, sources say

Niclas Kvarnström will return to Sweden to take up a senior position in the government, according to people familiar with the situation

There, he played a key role in organising the EU’s first Indo-Pacific summit in Stockholm in 2023. Another such summit is planned for November under the steer of the EEAS with assistance from the Danish government, which is the holder of the rotating EU presidency.

One insider said the departure was “quite sudden”, while several suggested that the Swede would leave a big hole in the EU’s small China policymaking machine, despite his relatively short stint there.