Trump snubs EU with diplomatic downgrade

Trump administration snubs EU with diplomatic downgrade

Washington (CNN)Ambassadors lining up to pay their respects at President George H.W. Bush's funeral knew the routine: They would be called in order of seniority, a well-established system in which everyone knew where they belonged.

Until they didn't.

The European Union's ambassador to the US, David O'Sullivan, normally among the first 30 foreign envoys to be seated, watched as almost every other ambassador to the US took a seat, leaving him among the last to be called.

That, according to an EU official, was how the 28-member bloc learned that the Trump administration had downgraded its diplomatic status from a state to an international organization. The shift -- a reversal of an Obama administration decision in 2016 -- has riled Brussels, deepening a growing rift and appalling diplomats in Washington who decried the move as "amateur" and "unprofessional."

The latest irritant

"We learned of this when Ambassador O'Sullivan went to the funeral of President George Bush," an EU official told CNN, speaking anonymously to discuss the issue.

"Every administration has the right to review this order but why now, two years in?" the official said, echoing comments from diplomats in Washington that the move seemed politically motivated. "What for us is remarkable is that we were not notified," the official continued. "For a diplomatic move like that, you should at least tell the organization involved."

The State Department did not answer multiple questions -- when or why the decision was made, by whom and why the Trump administration didn't bother notifying the EU orally or in writing. Instead, the agency sent CNN an automatic message citing the government shutdown for its failure to respond.

The snub is just the latest irritant in US-EU relations since the Trump administration took office. Under President Donald Trump, the US has sparred with the EU on a number of issues, including trade, the Iran nuclear deal and support for the Paris climate agreement, and has failed to consult it on decisions that affect European security.