The Delegation of the European Union to the United States represents the European Union in the United States, working in coordination with the diplomatic and consular missions of all 27 EU Member States. It is located at 2175 K Street, N.W., in the West End neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The current Ambassador of the European Union to the United States is Jovita Neliupšienė, who started on January 1, 2024, and is the first female to hold the position. From 2019-2023, the Ambassador of the EU Delegation was Stavros Lambrinidis.
Role
The European Union's Delegation in Washington, D.C., represents and promotes the interests and values of the European Union in the United States. This includes presenting and explaining EU policies and actions to the different branches and levels of the U.S. Administration, Congress, and across the country, as well as promoting EU-U.S. cooperation in all fields. Staff members engage inside and outside of Washington with the American public, political actors, the media, academia, business, think tanks, and civil society to raise awareness on the importance of the transatlantic relationship and its unparalleled contribution to the prosperity and security of Europeans and Americans alike.[1]
The Delegation represents the EU in matters where the EU Member States have agreed that their interests be represented collectively, for example, in areas of customs and trade. In contrast, the Embassy of each EU Member State represents the bilateral interests of that nation in its dealings with the U.S. government, and in areas that are not under specific EU jurisdiction. All consular affairs are dealt with by individual Member States.[2]
History
In 1952, the United States became the first non-member country to recognize the European Coal and Steel Community. Jean Monnet, one of the EU's founding fathers, reciprocated this recognition by choosing Washington, D.C, as the ECSC's first external presence.
Led by Leonard Tennyson, an American journalist and public relations official in the Marshall Plan administration, the two-room, two-person office was first located at 805 15th Street NW. After the launch of the European Economic Community (EEC) and European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) in 1958, the ECSC Information Office changed its name to the European Communities Information Service.
In 1972, the European Communities Information Service received full diplomatic status when Congress approved legislation and U.S. President Richard Nixon signed it into law. The office was then known as the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities to the United States. In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon established the EU's diplomatic service, the European External Action Service (EEAS), and so the Delegation became the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.
Since 1964, the EU has also maintained an office in New York, which now serves as the EU Delegation to the United Nations. In September 2022, the EU opened an office in San Francisco, California, with a focus on digital and tech matters. The opening is a result of the 2021 EU-U.S. Summit shared commitment to strengthen transatlantic technological cooperation and is a core part of the Conclusions on Digital Diplomacy, adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council in July 2022.[1]
Precedence
At diplomatic events, the EU ambassadorship previously followed national ambassadorships; i.e., it sat "on par with the African Union", which is also not a country.[3][4] In 2016, the Obama administration promoted the EU precedence to country-level (but only the Europeans, and not any other non-nations). In 2018, the Department of State returned the EU ambassadorship to non-country level, "back alongside the African Union."[5][6]Jan Ehler, from Germany, Chairman of the EU parliamentary Delegation for Relations with the United States, complained of the EU being relegated to "the bottom of the list."[7] In March 2019, the Department of State restored the diplomatic status of the European Union back to the pre-2018 status reflecting the EU's status "as equivalent to that of a bilateral mission in the Diplomatic Corps Order of Precedence."[8]
Main Priorities
The EU-U.S. partnership has prospered for more than six decades, constructed on a foundation of shared common values, including a commitment to the rule of law, the democratic process, free enterprise, human rights, and alleviating poverty.[1]
Peace and Stability
The EU and the United States share a global responsibility to promote common values, including democracy, peace, freedom, and the rule of law; support and protect human rights around the world; create conditions for harmonious economic development worldwide; strengthen the rules-based international system, and improve the economies of developing countries and those in transition. The United States is the EU’s foremost strategic partner in promoting peace and stability around the world.[1]
Deep Economic Ties
The EU-U.S. economic partnership is the single-most important driver of global economic growth, trade, and prosperity. Taken together, the economies of both territories constitute close to one-third of world GDP in terms of purchasing power. The EU and United States are each other’s main trading partners and account for the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world.[9]
Climate, Energy, and Connectivity
The EU and United States stand together for sustainable and trusted connections that work for people and the planet to tackle the most pressing global challenges, from climate change and protecting the environment to improving health security and boosting competitiveness and global supply chains. Through obligation to the Paris Agreement, open diplomatic channels, and a commitment to science, the EU and United States agree on the need for open, transparent, competitive, and sustainable solutions for a greener future.[1]
Staff
Jovita Neliupšienė became the Ambassador of the European Union to the United States on January 1, 2024. Before that, she was a Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania from September 2022, where she was responsible for the coordination of European Affairs, European bilateral and regional issues, as well as national sanctions coordinator.[1]
In addition to acting as diplomatic liaison between the EU and the United States, the EU Ambassador acts as the official representative of EU interests, policies, and priorities with high-level interlocutors in the U.S. Administration and Congress, as well as U.S. state leaders and key stakeholders in business, academia, civil society, and the U.S. media. As of 2024, the Delegation has approximately 120 staff members, comprising one-third diplomats and two-thirds local hires.
Head/Deputy Head of Delegation Serves as official representative of the EU to the United States
Political, Security & Development The Political, Security and Development section follows the transatlantic agenda and monitors the work of Congress and the U.S. Administration on foreign, security, and development policy, counterterrorism, justice and home affairs, and human rights.
Trade & Agriculture The Trade and Agriculture section monitors and analyses U.S. political, economic, and regulatory developments in the areas of trade policy, agriculture, industrial policy, and the digital economy.
Economic & Financial Affairs The Economic and Financial Affairs section monitors and assesses U.S. macroeconomic and financial developments and policies, and liaises with U.S. authorities dealing with economic, financial, and monetary issues, as well as with relevant international financial institutions.
Press & Public Diplomacy The Press and Public Diplomacy section enhances awareness of the EU and its policies in the United States. Through digital communications, the media, educational initiatives, cultural events, and outreach activities, the section is the Delegation’s first line of contact with the American public.
Global Issues and Innovation The Global Issues and Innovation section monitors and analyses U.S. political, economic, and regulatory developments in the areas of environmental protection, climate change, energy, transportation, food safety, public health, consumer protection, space, research and innovation, development cooperation, and global connectivity.
Foreign Policy Instruments The Foreign Policy Instruments section designs and implements actions and projects to advance European Union policy priorities in its relations with the United States.
San Francisco Office The EU office in San Francisco reinforces the EU’s cooperation with the United States on digital diplomacy and strengthens the EU’s capacity to reach out to key stakeholders, including policy makers, the business community, and civil society in the digital technology sector in the Bay Area.
Administration The Administration section provides support services to the Delegation staff, building, and residences through the authorized allocation of budgetary resources. It also liaises with authorities in Europe and the United States on protocol and administrative matters related to EU officials.
Former Ambassadors
Dries van Agt, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 1 January 1989 until 1 April 1995.
Among the Delegation's former Ambassadors, three also served as their country's prime minister: Jens Otto Krag, Dries van Agt, and John Bruton, and one as their country’s foreign minister: Stavros Lambrinidis
Jens Otto Krag (former Prime Minister of Denmark) – 1974 to 1977
Aldo Mario Mazio (first titled Ambassador and received diplomatic recognition) – 1971 to 1974
Building
On September 29, 2010, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton inaugurated the current EU Delegation to the United States.[12] The Delegation building was granted LEED Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council.[13]
The foreign relations of Norway are based on the country's membership in NATO and within the workings of the United Nations (UN). Additionally, despite not being a member of the European Union (EU), Norway takes a part in the integration of EU through its membership in the European Economic Area. Norway's foreign ministry includes both the minister of foreign affairs and minister of international development.
The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union (EU) for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas such as funding to third countries, etc. Decisions require unanimity among member states in the Council of the European Union, but once agreed, certain aspects can be further decided by qualified majority voting. Foreign policy is chaired and represented by the EU's High Representative, currently Josep Borrell.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held by Kaja Kallas.
Stavros Lambrinidis is a Greek lawyer and politician, currently serving as Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations. He was previously Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from March 2019 until December 2023, European Union special representative for human rights from 2012 to 2019 and Minister for Foreign Affairs in Greece from June 2011 to November 2011.
Alexander Sebastian Léonce von der Wenge Graf Lambsdorff, commonly known as Alexander Graf Lambsdorff is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, who has been serving as the German ambassador to Russia since 2023.
Although there has been a large degree of integration between European Union member states, foreign relations is still a largely intergovernmental matter, with the 27 states controlling their own relations to a large degree. However, with the Union holding more weight as a single entity, there are at times attempts to speak with one voice, notably on trade and energy matters. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy personifies this role.
Relations between the European Union and the United States began in 1953, when US diplomats visited the European Coal and Steel Community in addition to the national governments of its six founding countries. The two parties share a good relationship which is strengthened by NATO, cooperation on trade, and shared values.
Switzerland is not a member state of the European Union (EU). It is associated with the Union through a series of bilateral treaties in which Switzerland has adopted various provisions of European Union law in order to participate in the Union's single market, without joining as a member state. Among Switzerland's neighbouring countries, all but one are EU member states.
David O'Sullivan is the Director General of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA). He was previously a European civil servant served as Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2014 to 2019, Chief Operating Officer of the EEAS from 2010 to 2014, Director-General of DG RELEX from October 2010 to December 2010, Director-General of DG Trade from 2005 to 2010, Secretary General of the European Commission from 2000 to 2005.
The member states of the European Union are aligned in their foreign policy on many issues. The EU is the world's largest economic union, customs union and donor of humanitarian and development assistance and thus has an extensive network of delegations around the world mainly operating in the framework of External Relations, for which the European Commission is the main decision body. The EU also represents shared political and security viewpoints held by its member states, as articulated in the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The Republic of Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) have maintained a positive relationship through the years and have become more closely linked since 1991. Azerbaijan is currently part of the European Neighborhood Policy, the Eastern Partnership and the Council of Europe. The EU is the largest foreign grant donor to and investor in Azerbaijan, both in the government sector and civil society, making available over 600 million EURO of bilateral EU assistance since 1992.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also President of the Foreign Affairs Council and vice-president of the European Commission, and carries out the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
Samuel Žbogar is a Slovenian diplomat and politician who is the EU Special Representative in North Macedonia. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia from 2008 to 2012. He is currently acting Minister for Development Cooperation.
A de facto embassy is an office or organisation that serves de facto as an embassy in the absence of normal or official diplomatic relations among countries, usually to represent nations which lack full diplomatic recognition, regions or dependencies of countries, or territories over which sovereignty is disputed. In some cases, diplomatic immunity and extraterritoriality may be granted.
European Union–Pakistan relations are the international relations between the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. There has been no EU State Leader's visit for over twenty years.
Angelina Julietta Francisca Eichhorst is a European civil servant and since November 2024 the European Union Ambassador-designate to Egypt and the League of Arab States (LAS).
The United States Mission to the European Union (USEU) is the diplomatic mission of the United States to the European Union; it is based in Brussels, Belgium. The US has maintained diplomatic relations with the EU and its predecessors since 1953. The first predecessor of the current mission was the US diplomatic mission to the European Coal and Steel Community in Luxembourg, which opened in 1956. In 1961, the US Mission to the European Communities was established in Brussels, which later became the United States Mission to the European Union, upon the latter's establishment in 1993.
This article outlines the present structure of the European Union's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), a part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) based on articles 42–46 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Article 42.2 of TEU states that the CSDP includes the 'progressive framing' of a common Union defence policy, and will lead to a common defence, when the European Council of national heads of state or government, acting unanimously, so decides.
↑ Michael Knigge (8 January 2019). "Trump administration downgrades EU mission to US". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 10 January 2019. the bloc ambassador's status in Washington was upgraded to the level of a nation-state ambassador in September 2016, after a lengthy and intensive process by the State Department under former President Barack Obama.
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