BRUSSELS – Due to all the complications and wounded feelings that Brexit has instilled in the relationship between the European Union and its former member, Britain, a diplomatic spit was added this week, reminiscent of a similar argument made by former President Donald J. Trump was initiated.
So far, Britain has at least refused to grant the European Union ambassador the same diplomatic status as other ambassadors.
The British argument is that the European Union is an international federation, not a nation state, and should receive the same treatment as other international organizations, further in the diplomatic hierarchy. The suspicion also exists that the British government is trying to embarrass Brussels and contrast its own status as a nation state with the confederation it chooses to leave.
The dispute has been reported by the BBC for the first time, and the issue is still being negotiated, representatives of both parties said on Thursday.
“The EU is continuing with the long-term arrangements for the EU delegation to the United Kingdom,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
Peter Stano, spokesman for the European External Action Service, said the European Union “has privileges and immunities equivalent to those of diplomatic missions under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations” and that in 143 other countries and multilateral organizations in the world has such a status, “And the United Kingdom is well aware of this fact.”
Both sides noted that the level of representation was not covered in the Brexit negotiations.
Britain’s exit from the bloc is still raw, with significant dental problems and issue issues delaying bilateral trade, and it seems to be emphasizing its position on what Brexiters call its ‘liberation’ from the European Union and the obligations of shared sovereignty.
One of the results of a downgrade, if confirmed, would be to eliminate diplomatic immunity for representatives of the European Union. And the EU ambassador would not be allowed to give credentials to the queen.
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy for the Center for European Reform in London, said Britain’s’ attempt to downgrade EU delegation status to the UK seems small and guarantees that it will cause bad when the UK needs friends in Brussels. ”
It was ‘worth noting Trump tried the same trick but had to withdraw,’ he said, referring to a similar attempt to downgrade the status of EU ambassador to Washington two years ago.
“Is that a good precedent?” said Mr. Bond.
The downgrade of Ambassador David O’Sullivan appeared at the funeral of President George HW Bush in December 2018, when the name of Mr. O’Sullivan was not named in the expected order. The names of diplomats who gathered in Washington to pay tribute to the former president were, as usual, read from the longest-serving ambassador to the latest, but Mr. O’Sullivan was last mentioned.
Mr. Trump was known for his dislike of the European Union, which he compared to an enemy and a rival, not an ally. But after the news came to light, former US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland was instrumental in getting the Trump administration to restore EU diplomatic status three months later.
Of course, while he was still a member of the European Union, Britain was outspoken in defending the bloc’s diplomatic status with the Trump administration.
The EU Ambassador to London, João Vale de Almeida, is one of the group’s most experienced. Previously, he served from 2015 to 2019 as Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations and from 2010 to 2014 as Ambassador to the United States.