By Abiola Olawale
After an initial diplomatic fuss, the United Kingdom (UK) has announced that the European Union (EU)’s delegates to the country would be given the diplomatic privileges and immunity necessary to enable them perform their duties.
A row had earlier ensued as UK said it would not grant diplomatic privileges to EU’s first Ambassador to London after Brexit, Mr. João Vale de Almeida as it does to other ambassadors in the country, with the UK’s Foreign Office declining to treat an international organisation in the same way as nation states.
But the UK government has now reversed itself as Allegra Stratton, spokesperson of Prime Minister Boris Johnson said delegates from EU will be given all necessary privileges to enable them work effectively in the country.
However, she failed to ascertain if the delegates would be conferred with the same status as other national ambassadors.
Following the exit of UK from the EU, Stratton said the government will make sure that the EU delegates have all the necessary privileges to carry out their work.
In her words, “The EU, its delegation and staff will receive the privileges and immunities necessary to enable them to carry out their work in the UK effectively.”
While taking its initial stance, the Foreign Office had argued that the representatives of the EU should not be granted the privileges accorded other diplomats under the Vienna Convention.
The New Diplomat understands that the Vienna Convention is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. It specifies the privileges of a diplomats to perform their function with fear of coercion or harassment by the host country.
Reacting to the retraction of the ambassadorial status, Peter Stano, the spokesman of the EU on foreign affairs said the union is not equivalent to a country and as such the UK government should not treat the union as one.
In his words, “The UK, as a signatory to the Lisbon Treaty, is well aware of the EU’s status in external relations, and was cognisant and supportive of this staus while it was a member of the EU. Granting reciprocal treatment based on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is standard or between equal partners and we are confident that we can clear this issue with our friends in London in a satisfactory manner.”
The EU spokesman added that “The EU has 143 delegations, equivalent to diplomatic missions, around the world. Without exception, all host states have accepted to grant these delegations and their staff a status equivalent to that of diplomatic missions of states under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the UK is well aware of this fact.”
The New Diplomat recalls that UK exited from the membership of the EU on January 1, 2021. The exit ended the freedom of movement between UK and other countries in nearly all of the EU states.
Following the exit of UK from the EU, citizens of the block will no longer have the conditional right to move to the UK to work and settle, and vice versa. The immigration rules will be strictly adhered to.
Customs border checks returned to the trade roots of UK-EU. Also, additional paperworks are now being requested.
