The EU is planning to send a team of 29 diplomats in London which will represent the Union after Brexit. The proposal will be discussed next week.
The plans will be proposed on Wednesday for approval by the 27 Ambassadors from the Member States in Brussels.
The official name of London’s representation will be not an “embassy”, but a “delegation” and will form part of the EEAS.
A 5-member mission in Belfast is also envisaged to be based in the capital of Northern Ireland – Belfast. The EU’s northern Ireland mission will be operational after March 2019 only if there is a deal between London and Brussels.
At the same time, the European Commission will most probably close its current representations in Scotland and Wales. In addition, the European Commission has a chief office in London, located on the square of the British Parliament. The building held by the executive body of the EU since 2010 was previously headquarters of the Conservative Party, and it is now called a European House in which 27 EC staff members work.
When Britain comes out of the EU in March next year, this staff will be replaced by the delegation already mentioned. It is not known whether the delegation will remain in the same building where the European Commission’s office is currently hosting.
In principle, the European Union is represented by EU delegations and services, which are usually responsible for a particular country, although some represent the Union in several countries.
In Europe, the EU has missions in the countries of the Western Balkans, the Caucasus and in other countries such as Norway, Switzerland and Iceland that are not members of the Union. Brussels also has its offices in international organisations, such as those of the UN family, the African Union, the OSCE, etc.
So far, British diplomatic missions have been particularly useful because of the close relations that London supports with the former countries part from the colonial time. Only in 2015 London has opened 11 new embassies and 8 consulates in different countries.
