EU High Representative Catherine Ashton Friday announced that she is appointing Mihai Stuparu as Head of the EU mission to the United Arab Emirates. Stuparu, currently working in the EU\'s Foreign Service headquarters (EEAS) in Brussels, was until January 2013 ambassador of Romania to Australia and New Zealand, and has also served as his country\'s ambassador to Qatar and Iraq. Last January, Ashton had announced the opening of an EU Delegation in the UAE, highlighting the importance of EU\'S geo-strategic interests and political and economic ties with the UAE, as well as with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as a whole. The EU foreign policy chief today also announced the names of 11 other heads of EU missions in Africa, Asia and Latin America.