EU’s ambassador recognized by U.K.
LONDON — The U.K. has granted full diplomatic status to the European Union’s ambassador to the country, in a reversal of policy that settles one of the disputes that have strained relations between the two sides since Brexit.
In a joint statement Wednesday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said they had reached an agreement that was “based on goodwill and pragmatism.”
Under the so-called Establishment Agreement for the EU Delegation to the U.K., the EU’s ambassador to London will now have a status consistent with those from states around the world.
The changes end one of the rows that have soured relations since the U.K. left the EU in early 2020. The U.K. had sought to justify its decision not to grant full diplomatic status to Joao Vale de Almeida, the bloc’s first ambassador to London, on the grounds the EU is not a state even though other countries give it equivalent credentials.