The Trump administration downgraded the E.U.'s diplomatic status in Washington. That's going to hurt. -

This isn’t just a minor matter of diplomatic protocol. The Trump administration is using the downgrading to communicate its understanding of the world and of the European Union’s place in it.The downgrade and the lack of courtesy shown by not informing the European Union in advance fits well with the Trump administration’s hostility to the E.U. as a multilateral institution. The move is a blow to the E.U.’s attempts to boost its diplomatic standing in the world.