Inspection of the U.S. Mission to the European Union

What OIG Inspected
OIG inspected the executive direction and policy and program implementation of the U.S. Mission to the European Union.

What OIG Recommends
OIG made 1 recommendation to the U.S. Mission to the European Union. In its comments on the draft report, the mission concurred with the recommendation. OIG considers the recommendation resolved. The mission’s response to the recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendation section of this report. The mission’s formal response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.

What OIG Found

• The Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission led the U.S. Mission to the European Union with integrity, ethical behavior, and care for the staff.

• Ukraine-related issues dominated the mission’s agenda in 2022. The mission team worked with the European Union on security and humanitarian assistance, sanctions against Russia, and reception of Ukrainian refugees in European Union member states.

• Department of State officials and mission staff told OIG the workload in the Political and Economic Sections was excessive, especially since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and left insufficient time for employees to develop contacts for influencing policy proposals in the European Commission. The Front Office took some steps to reduce stress on the staff and requested 12 additional positions from the Department to address workload demands.

• The Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission worked with their counterparts at the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to improve coordination, especially on Ukraine issues.

• Washington stakeholders cited the high quality and policy relevance of reporting and analysis by the Political and Economic Sections.

• The Senior Consular Representative in the Political Section did not have the responsibilities of a full time senior position. OIG concluded that the position represents a misuse of resources.

• The Public Diplomacy Section used the large number of high-level U.S. government visitors to schedule press events to amplify U.S. policies, especially on Ukraine.