Politico: Behind-the-scenes US-EU diplomacy has suffered under Trump

Behind-the-scenes diplomacy between the US and the European Union (EU) has suffered since US President Donald Trump took office. Politico reports this with reference to diplomatic sources.

For years, US ambassadors have used informal dinners to rally European allies, exchange views and build consensus in Brussels - a tradition that diplomats say has largely disappeared since Donald Trump returned to the White House.

American diplomats called such meetings “dinners for like-minded people.” They were held approximately once a month at the US Ambassador's residence and were usually attended by fewer than a dozen participants. Nowadays, dinners are held less frequently and are attended by about a hundred people, which makes it difficult to openly share opinions without fear of leaks.

“This is the blood in the veins of the diplomatic system. It's like, 'I can't say this officially, but unofficially these are our red lines, these are my considerations, the political realities in my country, and I don't understand why you can't do this, this and this,'" the former US diplomat said.

The US Mission to the EU said the claim that the US side had reduced the number of informal meetings was "categorically false".