The Minister-president has decided to withdraw his general representative from Madrid. Because the Spanish government has withdrawn the diplomatic status of that representative. The Minister-President believes that without diplomatic status Flemish diplomats can not carry out their duties properly.
The Flemish diplomatic post in Madrid is not closed. It is temporarily vacant. The Government of Flanders will send a diplomat to Madrid as soon as the Spanish government is prepared to enrol him or her on the diplomatic list. During this transitional period, the relations between the Flemish government and the governments of Spain, Catalonia and the Basque Country will be coordinated from Brussels.
The diplomat returning from Madrid will be installed as General Presentative in London in the summer of 2019 as foreseen in the Flemish diplomatic movement that takes place every five years. Until then, he will receive a special assignment at the head office of the Foreign Affairs Department in Brussels.