First step towards Di Maio nomination as Mideast rep Thur

(ANSA) - ROME, APR 24 - The first step towards former Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio's possible appointment as the EU's new Middle East envoy will be taken at a meeting of the Union's ambassadors on the political and security committee on Thursday April 27, EU sources said Monday.
    The nomination on the recommendation of former Italian premier Mario Draghi is opposed by the current government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, which says that Di Maio is not up to the job.
    Thursday's meeting, which in theory does not envisage a discussion of the issue, will however be the first step in the ratification of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell's proposal, which may conclude a few weeks later with the formal approval of the EU Council, sources said Monday.
    (ANSA).