UK to Appoint New Chief Diplomat to European Union Mission

The former ambassador to China is set to take charge of the UK’s mission to the European Union following a leadership change expected next year.
Caroline Wilson is anticipated to assume the role of head of the UK Mission to the EU in Brussels starting in the autumn of 2026, according to several sources familiar with the plans.
She will replace Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby, who has held the position in Brussels since 2021. Wilson brings significant experience in EU matters, having served as the Foreign Office’s Europe director from 2016 to 2019, during the early Brexit negotiations.
This appointment marks a return to Brussels for Wilson, where she previously worked between 2000 and 2004 at the UK’s Representation to the EU, the institution that preceded the current mission. Additionally, she spent time in the city while earning her master’s degree in European community law at the francophone Université libre de Bruxelles. Between 2006 and 2008, she was also seconded to the Cabinet Office’s Europe secretariat.
Wilson, who had been ambassador to China since 2020, stepped down last month with confirmation that she will be moving to a new role within the Diplomatic Service. She is fluent in Mandarin and also speaks Russian, French, and German.
Officials have not commented on the appointment, noting that diplomatic postings will be officially announced through standard channels.
The outgoing head of mission, Croisdale-Appleby, played a key role during the Brexit process. He served as deputy to the UK’s chief negotiator in Downing Street’s Europe taskforce throughout 2020. Prior to that, he was a director general in the Foreign Office from 2017 to 2020, focusing on EU and related matters, and before then, he was the Europe director from 2015 to 2017.
According to several sources, Croisdale-Appleby is expected to leave his post by late summer or early autumn 2026. He was recently considered as a potential candidate for the role of US ambassador, though his next assignment has not yet been confirmed.
The UK Mission to the EU, known as UKMis, was established to replace the UK Permanent Representation following Brexit. Located near the Schuman roundabout in Brussels, the mission no longer holds a formal seat at EU institutions but works to promote British interests and relay diplomatic insights back to London.
Due to the sensitive nature of UK-EU relations, much of the work around this relationship is handled directly by Downing Street and the Cabinet Office. As a result, although UKMis operates under the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, it collaborates closely with the Cabinet Office, where the EU Relations Minister is based. It also coordinates with the FCDO’s Europe Minister.