A top House Democrat on Monday accused Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of harming U.S.-Europe relations by downgrading the European Union’s ambassador.
“We are concerned that this decision does not advance the interests of the United States and is in fact counterproductive,” Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., wrote in a Monday letter to top U.S. diplomats. “Insulting them for no apparent reason does not typically encourage them to take a warmer view of the United States.”
European officials were irritated to realize recently that the State Department’s protocol office had classified EU Ambassador to the U.S. David O’Sullivan as an envoy of an international organization, a downgrade from his place among the ranks of national ambassadors. The move took place without formal notification, raising complaints about a broader disrespect by the Trump administration for European allies.
“Both the substance of this decision and the undiplomatic way in which it was carried out needlessly denigrate transatlantic relations,” Engel wrote.
The EU only learned of the downgrade through the formalities at the late President George H.W. Bush’s funeral.
“The EU was not notified of this decision, but we have subsequently been in contact with the U.S. State Department on this issue,” an EU official told the Washington Examiner. “In the absence of new facts, we see no reason why the previous diplomatic practice should not continue to be observed.”
The United States posted O’Sullivan among national ambassadors in 2016, in deference to the European treaty that delegates some diplomatic authority from member-states to the union, as part of an effort to create foreign policy unity in the bloc. Engel pushed Pompeo to justify the decision and explain the process by which it was made, including the lack of “consultation” with lawmakers and the EU.
“NATO and the EU are the cornerstones of the transatlantic relationship, based in our common values and a shared vision for Europe, and should be treated as such,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote.
