The Council appointed Kirsten Joppe as new Head of Mission for the European Union Partnership Mission in Moldova (EUPM Moldova). She will take up her duties on 25 April 2026, taking over from Cosmin Dinescu.

Kirsten Joppe is a German governance expert and international advisor with over two decades of experience in peace operations and human rights. She has built extensive international expertise through diverse roles in election assistance and leadership positions within the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the German Federal Foreign Office, where she served as a country desk officer for Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In November 2024, Kirsten Joppe joined EUPM Moldova as Deputy Head of Mission and Chief of Staff, after more than 6 years in Ukraine. During her term in the European Advisory Mission to Ukraine (EUAM), she served -inter alia- as Head of the Strategic Reform Component, overseeing areas such as strategic reform, digitalisation, human rights, gender equality, and anti-corruption.

The decision to appoint her as the new Head of EUPM Moldova was taken by EU's Political and Security Committee on 22 April 2026.

EUPM Moldova was established in April 2023 for an initial period of two years, with the objective of enhancing the resilience of the security sector of the country in the areas of crisis management and hybrid threats, including cybersecurity and countering foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). The mandate was further extended for another two years, until 31 May 2027.

The Mission comprises over 70 permanent staff members, including international and local staff.

• CV
• EU Partnership Mission in the Republic of Moldova (EUPM) (EEAS website)
• Moldova: Council extends the mandate of the EU civilian mission for two years (press release, 21 May 2025
• Moldova: EU sets up a civilian mission to strengthen the resilience of the security sector (press release, 24 April 2023)
• Moldova (background information)