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Inspection of Embassy Brussels, Belgium [ [link removed] ] 05/24/2023 09:26 AM EDT

*What OIG Inspected*
OIG inspected the executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations of Embassy Brussels.

*What OIG Recommends*
OIG made 25 recommendations: 23 to Embassy Brussels and 2 to the U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In its comments on the draft report, the Department concurred with 22 recommendations and disagreed with 3 recommendations. OIG considers 22 recommendations resolved and 3 recommendations unresolved. The Department?s response to each recommendation, and OIG?s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The Department?s formal responses are reprinted in their entirety in Appendix B.

*What OIG Found*


* The Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission led Embassy Brussels in a professional and collaborative manner and acted with integrity. Embassy staff said the Ambassador was open to their views and concerned with staff morale.
* The Country Team, led by the Ambassador, achieved several policy goals, especially regarding Belgium?s support for Ukraine and its announcement that it would increase its defense spending to 2 percent (from 1.1 percent) of gross domestic product.?
* The Political-Economic Section produced high quality reporting and contributed to the mission?s successes on the policy front.
* The Consular Section struggled to handle its workload with high demand for nonimmigrant visas after the United States lifted travel restrictions.
* The Joint Administrative Services Section, which supports the three U.S. missions in Brussels, had several management control issues. The Department of State concurred with the embassy that it needed more management staff to maintain service standards.
* The locally employed staff retirement fund was underfunded by approximately $1 million.?
* Spotlight on Success: The Public Diplomacy Section used its extensive local contacts, including exchange program alumni, in communities throughout Belgium to reach new at-risk populations to counter violent extremism.
* Spotlight on Success: The Consular Section, faced with a backlog of loss of nationality cases, developed a streamlined process to handle more cases while maintaining Department standards. This process is being considered for use by other consular sections.
* Spotlight on Success: Information Management staff developed an innovative solution that meets Department security standards to provide embassy personnel access to their mobile devices and mobile applications while working in controlled access areas.
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