EU snubs Britain's envoy in ambassador status row
- EU's foreign policy chief decried this was "not a friendly signal" from the UK and warned that the spat dented prospects for post-Brexit cooperation.
BRUSSELS: The EU has delayed its first high-level meeting with Britain's new envoy amid a row over the status of its representative in the UK, an EU official said Thursday.
Brussels is angry that Britain has so far refused to grant full diplomatic status to its ambassador to London, in another row souring post-Brexit ties.
An EU official said a meeting scheduled for Thursday between the UK's new representative in Brussels Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby and the head of European Council president Charles Michel's office had been postponed.
The move comes as Brussels insists that the EU envoy to London should be treated like a diplomat from a sovereign nation and not as an envoy from an international organisation with lesser privileges.
On Monday, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell decried this was "not a friendly signal" from the UK and warned that the spat dented prospects for post-Brexit cooperation.
The EU insists its representative Joao Vale de Almeida should be awarded full diplomatic status, as is the case for its ambassadors to 143 other countries around the world where the bloc has delegations.
"We expect the United Kingdom to treat the European Union delegation accordingly and without delay," Borrell said.
Last week, a spokesman from the British foreign ministry played down the row, insisting the status of an international organisation would not harm the EU's ability to work in London.
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