EU Appoints Portuguese Diplomat as First Ambassador to UK After Brexit

Appointment of Ambassador de Almeida from Portugal

▲Jo?o Balr d'Almeida, appointed as the first EU ambassador to the UK after Brexit

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The European Union (EU) has appointed Jo?o Vale de Almeida, a Portuguese EU diplomat, as the first EU ambassador to the United Kingdom after Brexit (the UK's withdrawal from the European Union), scheduled for the 31st (local time).

Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who oversees the EU's external policies, announced on the 24th, "From the 1st of next month, when the UK becomes a third country to the EU, Vale de Almeida will assume his new position."

Vale de Almeida served as the EU ambassador to the United Nations from 2015 to 2019, and prior to that, from 2010 to 2014, he was the EU ambassador to the United States. He will play a key role in implementing the Brexit agreement between the EU and the UK, as well as in negotiations on the future relationship between the two sides after Brexit.

During his tenure as the EU ambassador to the US, he participated in negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US. These negotiations were halted after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

In the 1990s, he also served as a spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU's executive branch. AFP reported that among the journalists at the time was Boris Johnson, the current UK Prime Minister, who worked as a Brussels correspondent for a British media outlet.

With the UK’s Brexit withdrawal agreement having passed the UK Parliament’s approval process and the signatures of the EU leadership and the UK Prime Minister, only the European Parliament’s ratification on the 29th remains for Brexit.

Since the European Parliament’s ratification is a formal procedure, it is expected to proceed without any objections. Once this process is completed, all official procedures for Brexit will be finalized. The UK will withdraw from the EU on the 31st.