The United Kingdom refuses to grant the EU ambassador in London the same full diplomatic status as country ambassadors.
That decision is bad in Brussels, reports the BBC on Thursday. EU chief Josep Borrell is said to have raised the issue with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab last year.
The UK left the EU last year and would now like to treat EU envoys as representatives of an international organization. They have a different status from the ambassadors of countries. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations states that they enjoy a variety of privileges and immunity.
The British Foreign Office would like to prevent envoys from other organizations from claiming such a status.
The EU would consider that nonsense because it would not be an international organization in the traditional sense. The BBC writes that it is also feared that other countries will follow the British example.
The issue is expected to be addressed next Monday when EU foreign ministers meet.