EU considers €20m New York property to throw bigger parties
Bloc claims residence for UN ambassador would allow them to entertain more ‘influential guests’
THE European Union is eyeing up a €20million (£17.2million) residence for one of its top diplomats in New York because their current three-bedroom townhouse is too small to host parties.
The lavishly-decorated, 19th-century property will be used by the bloc’s ambassador to the United Nations to host more than 100 social gatherings every year, including dinners, lunches and receptions.
In a leaked document, seen by The Daily Telegraph, officials complained that its UN delegation has been forced to hold events in its “ill-suited” office, “given the limitations of the current residence”.
The memo, circulated to MEPs, also says the UN will keep the smaller property as an investment.
They argued its ambassadors, past and present, have struggled to attract “influential guests” because of the lack of a proper residence.
To attract more star-studded guests, the European External Action Service, the EU’s foreign policy wing, has asked MEPs to sign off on the purchase of the 2,000sq ft property in New York’s glitzy Upper East Side.
The townhouse, which has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, is described by real estate agents as “impeccably rebuilt with unparalleled material and craftsmanship”.
Its dining room is adorned with
Ralph Lauren “leather wrapped wallpaper”, the sizeable outdoor space, a rarity in Manhattan, features a high-end barbecue grill and fire pit, and ironically a purple and brown Union flag rug in one of the drawing rooms.
“No expense was spared in the meticulous design and construction of this beautiful home,” the online agent selling the townhouse added.
The garden is seen by officials as a vital area as they will be able to host around 60 warm weather events a year.
“A proper residence is, in this respect, a key working tool to attract influential interlocutors. This is the essence of diplomatic work,” officials noted.
“A representative and functional residence enables quality and sustained outreach to the many players in the broad diplomatic platform that the UN in New York represents.”
In a separate document, officials said purchasing the townhouse would give the bloc’s UN ambassador a property equivalent to its top diplomats in other foreign countries. “The residence of the head of delegation should be comparable to those of member state ambassadors,” the memo said.
It was claimed that currently the EU’s UN ambassador can only entertain a “maximum of around 10 guests” with no room for family during official events.
Under the EU’s plans, the new property will cost European taxpayers €20 million over the next 20 years, including for renovations to the already revamped townhouse.
Brussels will also hold on to the existing residence, which could be sold for €4.5million, as an investment.
“It would only make sense to cash in the capital gain if the EU were to leave the New York real estate market,” the memo said.