/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/XFWZWV6DO6K3IK43OYGCMPGLSM.jpg)
London and Brussels have closed this Wednesday their bitter dispute over the status of the representative of the European Union in the United Kingdom.
The High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Dominic Raab, have agreed during the G7 summit in London that the community ambassador will receive a rank equivalent to that of a head of mission of a State .
London's initial rejection of this recognition had roused the EU at a delicate moment in relations between the two blocs due to the conflict derived from the non-compliance by the Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca and the tensions in Northern Ireland.
More information
Johnson government resists granting diplomatic status to EU representatives
Brussels slams the British ambassador until London recognizes EU diplomats
The new diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the EU after Brexit got off to a bad start after London denied João Vale de Almeida the rank of ambassador, considering that he did not represent a country, but an international organization. In the midst of the AstraZeneca vaccine crisis, the decision angered the EU. European Council President Charles Michel decided to cancel all scheduled meetings with the new British representative in Brussels, Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, who had just landed in Brussels to replace Tim Barrow. Borrell then sent a letter to Raab lamenting that "the conditions offered [for community representatives] do not reflect the specific nature of the EU, nor are they suited to future relations between the EU and the UK as an important third country."
Brussels from the outset saw the UK's decision as a provocation.
The EU has representatives in 143 countries, and in all of them they are treated like a diplomat of a state.
Only Donald Trump, who displayed a defiant attitude towards the EU, decided early in his term to lower his rank.
After a year, he ended up rectifying.
Boris Johnson's government has not taken that long, just five months.
This Wednesday Borrell and Raab resolved the matter on the margins of the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, which is being held in London.
"Goodwill and pragmatism"
In a joint statement, the foreign representatives of the two blocs congratulated each other on Wednesday for having reached an agreement based on "good will and pragmatism." According to the agreement reached, the body of the EU delegation "will have the privileges and immunities necessary to function effectively." "We want to move forward to address global challenges together," they said in a terse statement. The end point to this conflict allows to reduce the tension with the United Kingdom, which had been alleviated by the ratification of the trade agreement by the European Parliament.
According to a spokeswoman for the British delegation, Borrell and Raab also discussed cooperation in foreign and security affairs, and the possibility of working together in the area of climate change, especially at the gates of the United Nations Conference. on climate COP26, which will take place in Glasgow next November. They also addressed the situation in Cyprus, on which they agreed on the need to promote a meeting between the parties and support the efforts of the UN.
Vale de Almeida, who must now present his diplomatic credentials to Queen Elizabeth II, was appointed by Borrell as the EU's ambassador to the United Kingdom in late December, before Brexit occurred. The diplomat has been the EU's ambassador to the United Nations between 2010 and 2014 and, subsequently, between 2015 and 2019. He also represented the EU bloc in Washington. Before that, he had been the chief of staff of the former president of the European Commission José Manuel Durão Barroso.
