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66-840: Westminster House , the official residence in Colombo for the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka , is situated in Cinnamon Gardens , a suburb of Colombo. In 1948 Ceylon became a dominion within the commonwealth and the British established a high commission that year. The High Commissioner was originally domiciled in a government bungalow, Four Furlongs, on Bauddhaloka Mawatha (formerly Bullers Road) in Cinnamon Gardens. In March 1950 that

132-497: A chargé d'affaires (usually the deputy chief of mission ) who may have limited powers. A chargé d'affaires ad interim also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of mission's term and the beginning of another. Contrary to popular belief, diplomatic missions sometimes do not enjoy full extraterritorial status and are generally not sovereign territory of the represented state. The sending state can give embassies sovereign status but this only happens with

198-543: A Vatican mission is headed by a nuncio ( Latin for "envoy") and consequently known as an apostolic nunciature . Under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi , Libya's missions used the name people's bureau , headed by a secretary. Missions between Commonwealth countries are known as high commissions , and their heads are high commissioners. Generally speaking, ambassadors and high commissioners are regarded as equivalent in status and function, and embassies and high commissions are both deemed to be diplomatic missions. In

264-578: A candidate to have a democratic government and free-market economy together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect for the rule of law . Enlargement of the Union is also contingent upon the consent of all existing members and the candidate's adoption of the existing body of EU law, known as the acquis communautaire . The United Kingdom , which had acceded to the EU's predecessor in 1973, ceased to be an EU member state on 31 January 2020, in

330-455: A consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy (to serve the region of the capital) in what is normally called a consular section. In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to recall its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure. This is less drastic than cutting diplomatic relations completely, and the mission will still continue operating more or less normally, but it will now be headed by

396-449: A formalisation of the situation. EU integration is not always symmetrical, with some states proceeding with integration ahead of hold-outs. There are several different forms of closer integration both within and outside the EU's normal framework. One mechanism is enhanced cooperation where nine or more states can use EU structures to progress in a field that not all states are willing to partake in. Some states have gained an opt-out in

462-607: A greater or lesser extent. If an aspect is not listed in the table below, then it remains the exclusive competence of the member state. Perhaps the best known example is taxation, which remains a matter of state sovereignty. As a result of the European sovereign debt crisis , some eurozone states were given a bailout from their fellow members via the European Financial Stability Facility and European Financial Stability Mechanism (replaced by

528-528: A member state to leave the bloc. The procedure for a state to leave is outlined in TEU Article 50 which also makes clear that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Although it calls for a negotiated withdrawal between the seceding state and the rest of the EU, if no agreement is reached two years after the seceding state notifying of its intention to leave, it would cease to be subject to

594-549: A minority of countries. Rather, the premises of an embassy remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges (such as immunity from most local laws) by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations . Diplomats themselves still retain full diplomatic immunity , and (as an adherent to the Vienna Convention) the authorities of the host country may not enter the premises of

660-401: A monarch although political powers are exercised by elected politicians. Most republics and all the monarchies operate a parliamentary system whereby the head of state (president or monarch) has a largely ceremonial role with reserve powers . That means most power is in the hands of what is called in most of those countries the prime minister, who is accountable to the national parliament . Of

726-458: A new country applying from scratch. However, other studies claim internal enlargement is legally viable if, in case of a member state dissolution or secession, the resulting states are all considered successor states . There is also a European Citizens' Initiative that aims at guaranteeing the continuity of rights and obligations of the European citizens belonging to a new state arising from

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792-545: A political process known as Brexit . No other member state has withdrawn from the EU and none has been suspended, although some dependent territories or semi-autonomous areas have left . There are a number of overseas member state territories which are legally part of the EU, but have certain exemptions based on their remoteness; see Overseas Countries and Territories Association . These "outermost regions" have partial application of EU law and in some cases are outside of Schengen or

858-604: A separate mission to the UN agencies , led by its own ambassador , but is located in the compound that houses its embassies to Italy and the Holy See. Several cities host both embassies/consulates and permanent representatives to international organizations, such as New York City ( United Nations ), Washington, D.C. ( Organization of American States ), Jakarta ( ASEAN ) and Brussels ( European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ). In some cases, an embassy or consulate

924-465: A template for the pro-EU regions of the UK remaining within the EU or its single market. Beyond the formal withdrawal of a member state, there are a number of independence movements such as Catalonia or Flanders which could result in a similar situation to Greenland. Were a territory of a member state to secede but wish to remain in the EU, some scholars claim it would need to reapply to join as if it were

990-501: Is also followed multilaterally by the member states of the European Union (EU). European citizens in need of consular help in a country without diplomatic or consular representation of their own country may turn to any consular or diplomatic mission of another EU member state (art. 23 TFEU ). Some cities may host more than one mission from the same country. In Rome , many states maintain separate missions to both Italy and

1056-411: Is commonly used also as a section of a building in which the work of the diplomatic mission is carried out, but strictly speaking, it is the diplomatic delegation itself that is the embassy, while the office space and the diplomatic work done is called the chancery . Therefore, the embassy operates in the chancery. The members of a diplomatic mission can reside within or outside the building that holds

1122-479: Is delegated by each member to the institutions in return for representation within those institutions. This practice is often referred to as 'pooling of sovereignty'. Those institutions are then empowered to make laws and execute them at a European level. If a state fails to comply with the law of the European Union , it may be fined or have funds withdrawn. In contrast to some international organisations,

1188-590: Is divided between multiple locations in the same city. For example, the Bangladeshi Deputy High Commission in Kolkata , has two locations: one at Park Circus and another, opened later, at Mirza Ghalib Street, to reduce overcrowding. Governments of states not recognized by the receiving state and of territories that make no claim to be sovereign states may set up offices abroad that do not have official diplomatic status as defined by

1254-579: Is generally expected that an embassy of a Commonwealth country in a non-Commonwealth country will do its best to provide diplomatic services to citizens from other Commonwealth countries if the citizen's country does not have an embassy in that country. Canadian and Australian nationals enjoy even greater cooperation between their respective consular services, as outlined in the Canada-Australia Consular Services Sharing Agreement . The same kind of procedure

1320-419: Is open to any European country that is a stable, free-market liberal democracy that respects the rule of law and human rights. Furthermore, it has to be willing to accept all the obligations of membership, such as adopting all previously agreed law (the 170,000 pages of acquis communautaire ) and switching to the euro . For a state to join the European Union, the prior approval of all current member states

1386-512: Is required. In addition to enlargement by adding new countries, the EU can also expand by having territories of member states, which are outside the EU, integrate more closely (for example in respect to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles ) or by a territory of a member state which had previously seceded and then rejoined (see withdrawal below). There is no provision to expel a member state, but TEU Article 7 provides for

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1452-429: Is sometimes used interchangeably with chancery , the physical office or site of a diplomatic mission. Consequently, the terms "embassy residence" and "embassy office" are used to distinguish between the ambassador's residence and the chancery. A country may have several different types of diplomatic missions in another country. The head of an embassy is known as an ambassador or high commissioner . The term embassy

1518-639: Is superior to State law is subject to some debate. The treaties do not give a judgement on the matter but court judgements have established EU's law superiority over national law and it is affirmed in a declaration attached to the Treaty of Lisbon (the proposed European Constitution would have fully enshrined this). The legal systems of some states also explicitly accept the Court of Justice's interpretation, such as France and Italy, however in Poland it does not override

1584-533: Is taken against it as outlined above. However, the treaties do not provide any mechanism to expel a member state outright. Prior to the Lisbon Treaty , there was no provision or procedure within any of the Treaties of the European Union for a member state to withdraw from the European Union or its predecessor organisations. The Lisbon Treaty changed this and included the first provision and procedure of

1650-533: The European Stability Mechanism from 2013), but this came with conditions. As a result of the Greek government-debt crisis , Greece accepted a large austerity plan including privatisations and a sell off of state assets in exchange for their bailout. To ensure that Greece complied with the conditions set by the European troika (ECB, IMF, Commission), a 'large-scale technical assistance' from

1716-652: The Holy See . It is not customary for these missions to share premises nor personnel. At present, only the Iraqi and United States embassies to Italy and the Holy See share premises; however, separate ambassadors are appointed, one to each country. In the case of the UN's Food Agencies , the sending country's ambassador to the Italian Republic is usually accredited as permanent representative . The United States maintains

1782-480: The National Council of Slovenia . All elections in member states use some form of proportional representation . The most common type of proportional representation is the party-list system . There are also differences in the level of self-governance for the sub-regions of a member state. Most states, especially the smaller ones, are unitary states ; meaning all major political power is concentrated at

1848-533: The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations . A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city. For instance, the Philippines has its embassy to the United States in the latter's capital, Washington, D.C., but also maintains seven consulates-general in major US cities. The person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as

1914-501: The institutions of the European Union in certain aspects of government. State governments must agree unanimously in the Council for the union to adopt some policies; for others, collective decisions are made by qualified majority voting . These obligations and sharing of sovereignty within the EU (sometimes referred to as supranational ) make it unique among international organisations, as it has established its own legal order which by

1980-491: The state's constitution , which it does in Germany. The exact areas where the member states have given legislative competence to the Union are as follows. Every area not mentioned remains with member states. In EU terminology, the term 'competence' means 'authority or responsibility to act'. The table below shows which aspects of governance are exclusively for collective action (through the commission) and which are shared to

2046-771: The British Embassy in Beijing (1967), the hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran (1979–1981), and the hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima , Peru (1996–1997). The basic role of a diplomatic mission is to represent and safeguard the interests of the home country and its citizens in the host country. According to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations , which establishes

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2112-653: The Ceylonese government provided a 0.5 ha (1.2 acres) site for the High Commissioner's new residence, on a 99-year lease, on Wijerama Mawatha (formerly MacCarthy Road), in Cinnamon Gardens, however the lease was not formally signed until March 1952. The building, a colonial style bungalow, with large gardens, was designed by the Ministry of Works in New Delhi , for an estimated cost of £40,000. Works on

2178-513: The EU VAT area—however they are legally within the EU. They all use the euro as their currency. Abbreviations have been used as a shorthand way of grouping countries by their date of accession. Additionally, other abbreviations have been used to refer to countries which had limited access to the EU labour market . According to the Copenhagen criteria , membership of the European Union

2244-486: The EU's style of integration as a union of states does not "emphasise sovereignty or the separation of domestic and foreign affairs [and it] has become a highly developed system for mutual interference in each other's domestic affairs, right down to beer and sausages.". However, on defence and foreign policy issues (and, pre- Lisbon Treaty , police and judicial matters) less sovereignty is transferred, with issues being dealt with by unanimity and co-operation. Very early on in

2310-697: The European Commission and other member states was deployed to Greek government ministries. Some, including the President of the Euro Group Jean-Claude Juncker , stated that "the sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited." The situation of the bailed out countries (Greece, Portugal and Ireland) has been described as being a ward or protectorate of the EU with some such as the Netherlands calling for

2376-621: The European Parliament; prospective justices must be confirmed by the existing members. Historically, larger member states were granted an extra Commissioner. However, as the body grew, this right has been removed and each state is represented equally. The six largest states are also granted an Advocates General in the Court of Justice. Finally, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank includes

2442-643: The Meteorological Department, adjacent to Westminster House. In 2001 the Scottish architectural practice, Richard Murphy Associates, in collaboration with local architect, Milroy Perera, was commissioned to design the new offices. The single-storey building has a central spine traversing the middle of the site with four wings leading off it on either side in a staggered arrangement, creating a series of small intimate courtyards, reflecting aspects of traditional Sri Lankan architecture. The building

2508-792: The Ministry of Works, on a 1.6 ha (4.0 acres) site, on Galle Road in Colpetty . Construction of the office building commenced in April 1963, with the laying of a foundation stone by Sir Michael Walker , and opened in January 1966. In the late 1990s the British Government decided that the existing office of the High Commission was no longer fit for purpose and acquired a 0.8 ha (2.0 acres) site on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, from

2574-585: The States to Community, the Member States have limited their sovereign rights and have thus created a body of law which binds both their nationals and themselves...The transfer by the States from their domestic legal system to the Community legal system of the rights and obligations arising under the Treaty carries with it a permanent limitation of their sovereign rights. The question of whether Union law

2640-488: The Treaty on European Union While the member states are sovereign, the union partially follows a supranational system for those functions agreed by treaty to be shared. ("Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the member states"). Previously limited to European Community matters, the practice, known as the ' community method ', is currently used in many areas of policy. Combined sovereignty

2706-404: The UK eventually withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020. Prior to 2016, no member state had voted to withdraw. However, French Algeria , Greenland and Saint-Barthélemy did cease being part of the EU (or its predecessor) in 1962, 1985, and 2012, respectively, due to status changes. The situation of Greenland being outside the EU while still subject to an EU member state had been discussed as

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2772-1037: The Vienna Convention. Examples are the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Offices that represent the government of the Republic of China; Somaliland's Representative Offices in London, Addis Ababa , Rome, Taipei , and Washington, D.C. ; the Hong Kong and Macau economic and trade offices that represent the governments of those two territories. Such offices assume some of the non-diplomatic functions of diplomatic posts, such as promoting trade interests and providing assistance to its citizens and residents. They are nevertheless not diplomatic missions, their personnel are not diplomats and do not have diplomatic visas, although there may be legislation providing for personal immunities and tax privileges, as in

2838-563: The case of the Hong Kong offices in London and Toronto or the Macau office in Lisbon, for example. EU member states The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties , and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their own sovereignty through

2904-403: The democratic secession of a European Union member state. Each state has representation in the institutions of the European Union . Full membership gives the government of a member state a seat in the Council of the European Union and European Council . When decisions are not being taken by consensus , qualified majority voting (which requires majorities both of the number of states and of

2970-527: The directly elected lower house and require its support to stay in office—the exception being Cyprus with its presidential system. Upper houses are composed differently in different member states: it can be directly elected like the Polish senate ; indirectly elected, for example, by regional legislatures like the Federal Council of Austria ; or unelected, but representing certain interest groups like

3036-555: The founding treaties from participating in certain policy areas. The admission of a new state the Union is limited to liberal democracies and Freedom House ranks all EU states as being totally free electoral democracies. All but 4 are ranked at the top 1.0 rating. However, the exact political system of a state is not limited, with each state having its own system based on its historical evolution. More than half of member states—16 out of 27—are parliamentary republics , while six states are constitutional monarchies , meaning they have

3102-490: The framework of diplomacy among sovereign states: The functions of a diplomatic mission consist, inter alia , in representing the sending State in the receiving State; protecting in the receiving State the interests of the sending State and of its nationals, within the limits permitted by international law; negotiating with the Government of the receiving State; ascertaining by all lawful means conditions and developments in

3168-428: The governors of the national central banks (who may or may not be government appointed) of each euro area country. The larger states traditionally carry more weight in negotiations, however smaller states can be effective impartial mediators and citizens of smaller states are often appointed to sensitive top posts to avoid competition between the larger states. This, together with the disproportionate representation of

3234-415: The history of the EU, the unique state of its establishment and pooling of sovereignty was emphasised by the Court of Justice: By creating a Community of unlimited duration, having its own institutions, its own personality, its own legal capacity and capacity of representation on the international plane and, more particularly, real powers stemming from a limitation of sovereignty or a transfer of powers from

3300-555: The host country or a third country. For example, North Korean nationals, who would be arrested and deported from China upon discovery, have sought sanctuary at various third-country embassies in China. Once inside the embassy, diplomatic channels can be used to solve the issue and send the refugees to another country. See the list of people who took refuge in a diplomatic mission for a list of some notable cases. Notable violations of embassy extraterritoriality include repeated invasions of

3366-409: The interests of all the member states within the EU. In the 1950s, six core states founded the EU's predecessor European Communities ( Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , and West Germany ). The remaining states have acceded in subsequent enlargements . To accede, a state must fulfil the economic and political requirements known as the Copenhagen criteria , which require

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3432-737: The larger ones). The members of the European Parliament have been elected by universal suffrage since 1979 (before that, they were seconded from national parliaments ). The national governments appoint one member each to the European Commission , the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Auditors . Prospective Commissioners must be confirmed both by the President of the Commission and by

3498-509: The mission (which means the head of mission's residence) without permission of the represented country, even to put out a fire. International rules designate an attack on an embassy as an attack on the country it represents. The term 'extraterritoriality' is often applied to diplomatic missions, but normally only in this broader sense. As the host country's authorities may not enter the representing country's embassy without permission, embassies are sometimes used by refugees escaping from either

3564-626: The mission's chancery, and their private residences enjoy the same rights as the premises of the mission as regards inviolability and protection. All missions to the United Nations are known simply as permanent missions , while EU member states ' missions to the European Union are known as permanent representations , and the head of such a mission is typically both a permanent representative and an ambassador. European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular nomenclature for their missions and staff:

3630-469: The national level. 9 states allocate power to more local levels of government. Austria, Belgium and Germany are full federations, meaning their regions have constitutional autonomies. Denmark, Finland, France and the Netherlands are federacies , meaning some regions have autonomy but most do not. Spain and Italy have systems of devolution where regions have autonomy, but the national government retains

3696-474: The past, a diplomatic mission headed by a lower-ranking official (an envoy or minister resident ) was known as a legation . Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, the designation of legation is no longer among the diplomatic ranks used in diplomacy and international relations. A consulate is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by

3762-519: The population they represent, but a sufficient blocking minority can veto the proposal). The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among each of the member states, allowing each state six months to help direct the agenda of the EU. Similarly, each state is assigned seats in Parliament according to their population (smaller countries receiving more seats per inhabitant than

3828-537: The provisions of the founding treaties is both legally binding and supreme on all the member states (after a landmark ruling of the ECJ in 1964 ). A founding principle of the union is subsidiarity , meaning that decisions are taken collectively if and only if they cannot realistically be taken individually. Each member country appoints to the European Commission a European commissioner . The commissioners do not represent their member state, but instead work collectively in

3894-478: The receiving State, and reporting thereon to the Government of the sending State; promoting friendly relations between the sending State and the receiving State, and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations. Diplomatic missions between members of the Commonwealth of Nations are not called embassies, but high commissions , for Commonwealth nations share a special diplomatic relationship. It

3960-450: The remaining republics, four operate a semi-presidential system , where competences are shared between the president and prime minister, while one republic operates a presidential system , where the president is head of both state and government. Parliamentary structure in member states varies: there are 15 unicameral national parliaments and 12 bicameral parliaments. The prime minister and government are usually directly accountable to

4026-565: The residence commenced in July 1952 and it was completed in March 1954. Most of the furniture for the ground floor was designed, in a contemporary style, by Dennis Lennon . The residence was named after the Palace of Westminster . The final cost was £53,795, plus £12,000 for furnishings and equipment. The offices of the High Commission occupied a six-storey office building, designed by Charles Kidby of

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4092-445: The smaller states in terms of votes and seats in parliament, gives the smaller EU states a greater power of influence than is normally attributed to a state of their size. However most negotiations are still dominated by the larger states. This has traditionally been largely through the " Franco-German motor" but Franco-German influence has diminished slightly following the influx of new members in 2004 (see G6 ). – Article 4 of

4158-405: The state concerned), but sanctions require only a qualified majority. The state in question would still be bound by the obligations treaties and the Council acting by majority may alter or lift such sanctions. The Treaty of Nice included a preventive mechanism whereby the council, acting by majority, may identify a potential breach and make recommendations to the state to rectify it before action

4224-518: The suspension of certain rights. Introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam , Article 7 outlines that if a member persistently breaches the EU's founding principles (liberty, democracy, human rights and so forth, outlined in TEU Article 2 ) then the European Council can vote to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting and representation. Identifying the breach requires unanimity (excluding

4290-541: The treaties anyway (thus ensuring a right to unilateral withdrawal). There is no formal limit to how much time a member state can take between adopting a policy of withdrawal, and actually triggering Article 50. In a referendum in June 2016 , the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU. The UK government triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. After an extended period of negotiation and internal political debate

4356-401: Was formally opened in May 2008. On 14 November 2013, King Charles celebrated his 65th birthday at Westminster House, whilst he was attending the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka as the Prince of Wales. This article about a building or structure in Sri Lanka is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ambassadorial residence The term embassy

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