Britain tells EU’s man in London: You’re no diplomat
We refuse to give ambassador full status
BRITAIN became embroiled in a spat with refusing to accord diplomatic status to the bloc’s ambassador.
In a provocative announcement, the Government said Joao Vale de Almeida will not have the same status as envoys of national governments.
The slight triggered a furious reaction with even senior Tories questioning Boris Johnson’s approach and warning that it could set a ‘bad precedent’.
Mr De Almeida is the EU’s first post-Brexit ambassador in London. Michel Barnier, who led the EU’s negotiating team during Brexit talks, said that the UK should be ‘very careful’ about its approach.
It is believed that ministers regard the EU as an international organisation rather than a nation state. ‘I know the spin of the UK authorities, speaking about the EU like international organisations, but we are not an international organisation,’ said Mr Barnier. ‘I hope that we will be able to find a clever and objective solution to the status of the EU in London. It would be wise in my view for the UK to find a clever solution.’ Senior Tory Tobias Ellwood described the row as a ‘silly spat’ and insisted that the UK should be ‘better than this’.
Mr Ellwood, chairman of the Commons defence committee, said: ‘This is simply petty. [Joe]
Biden commits to strengthening alliances and we engage in silly spats which will not help strengthen security and trade cooperation. We are better than this.’
Former Europe minister Sir David Lidington said he hoped that the Foreign Office ‘doesn’t pick a fight on this’.
He warned that refusing to recognise the diplomatic status could set a ‘bad precedent’ for regimes that hate EU ambassadors speaking up in support of human rights.
Tory peer Lord Barwell, who was Theresa May’s chief of staff, said the move was ‘difficult to understand’.
He added: ‘The UK treating EU diplomats differently than every other independent sovereign state does suggest there is something different about our relationship with the EU.’ He added: ‘ Strange position for Brexiteers to take.’ A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘ The EU, its delegation and staff will receive the privileges and immunities necessary to enable them to carry out their work effectively.’ Brussels said that the EU’s 143 delegations and staff in other parts of the world had been accorded a status equivalent to countries’ embassies under the Vienna Convention, which grants diplomats immunity from detention, criminal jurisdiction and taxation.
Whitehall sources insisted that international organisations were offered ‘very similar privileges and immunities’ to diplomatic missions sent by foreign governments.
The UK is continuing to negotiate with the EU over the long-term arrangements for the delegation.
European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said the UK, which, as a member of the EU, was a signature to the Lisbon Treaty which established the European External Action Service diplomatic network, was ‘well aware of the EU’s status in external relations’.
‘Nothing has changed since the UK’s exit from the European Union to justify any change in stance on the UK’s part,’ he said.
‘The EU’s status in external relations and its subsequent diplomatic status is amply recognised by countries and international organisations around the world, and we expect the United Kingdom to treat the EU Delegation accordingly.’
He said granting reciprocal treatment based on the Vienna Convention is ‘standard practice’ between equal partners and we are ‘confident that we can clear this issue with our friends in London in a satisfactory manner’.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell is said to have written to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to raise his concerns.
Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby has been named head of the UK’s mission to the EU, replacing Sir Tim Barrow as ambassador.
‘It would be wise to find a solution’