Rafiq Husseini officially appointed head of water and environment of the UfM secretariat in Barcelona.

The nomination of Palestinian vice secretary Rafiq al Husseini as head of 'Water and Environment' completes the team of Ahmad Masadeh, the general secretary of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Rafiq al Husseini, president Abu Mazen's (Mahumd Abbas) right hand man, was forced last April to give up his seat as cabinet chairman in the context of the ''sexgate'' scandal that rocked the PNA leadership. Now he will be one of the key players in the revival of the Union for the Mediterranean, concurrent with the new start of direct negotiation between Israel and the PNA and in light of the upcoming meeting of 43 heads of State and government of the two shores, scheduled to take place on November 20 and 21 in Barcelona.

The November meeting, at the heart of the meeting of high ranking UFM officersthat took place last September in Brussels, will also have to determine the countries that will replace France and Egypt as UFM co-presidents (probably Spain and Tunisia). With the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and the consultation of the High representative for EU foreign policy, Catherine Ashton, the predictable handover from France to Spain becomes less likely.

Here is the full list of the vice secretaries of the Union for the Mediterranean: Lino Cardarelli, SME and project financing (Italy); Panagiotis Roumeliotis, Energy (Greece); Celia Attard Pirotta, Civil Defence (Malta); Mehmet Yigit Alpogan, Transport (Turkey); Ilan Chet, Research and Education (Israel); Rafiq al Husseini, Water and Environment (PNA).