‘NOT WELL RECEIVED’

Report: Trump Administration Downgraded EU Delegation’s Diplomatic Status

State Dept. reportedly told officials it “forgot” to notify them of the move last year.

The Trump administration downgraded the diplomatic status of the European Union mission to the U.S. and failed to give any notice of the move, Deutsche Welle reports. The downgrade reportedly happened in late October or early November, and the EU only found out about it after noticing its Washington ambassador was not being invited to certain events. Officials organizing the state funeral for President George H.W. Bush reportedly confirmed to the EU that it had been downgraded from a “member state to international organization.” “We don't exactly know when they did it, because they conveniently forgot to notify us,” an unnamed EU official told the newspaper. “I can confirm that this has not been well received in Brussels.” According to a source cited in the report, EU officials reached out to the State Department for clarification on the move and the department said they simply “forgot” to tell them.