Brussels will open its new embassy to London in March 2019 | Chris Jackson/Getty Images Race is on to be EU’s first ambassador to London European Commission denies that Martin Selmayr, its secretary-general, is in the running for the position.

Brussels will open its new embassy to London in March next year whether Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal or not — and according to two EU diplomats, the race for the ambassador's position is already on.

The prospect of such a plum position across the Channel already has top Brussels brass jockeying for the role, according to the diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity. Two people in the frame already are Martin Selmayr, the Commission's secretary-general, and Helga Schmid, the top official at the European External Action Service.

The expanded diplomatic mission in the British capital will be functional in time for the U.K.'s departure date of March 29, an EU official confirmed. The embassy will have a far more prominent role post Brexit than the Commission's current representation in London because after the U.K.'s departure, the country will instantly become the bloc's third-largest trading partner after the U.S. and China. It will also have closer cultural and security ties to the bloc than any other country.

“[Selmayr] wants that job ... and very likely he will have to go,” said one diplomat, referring to the fact that if the next Commission president is a German, he would probably be moved from his current role. “He would be in a very visible and powerful position, as the official in charge of implementing Brexit," said the diplomat, adding that it would be “even more visible than EU ambassador to Washington.”

The notion that Selmayr is allegedly interested in the job will raise eyebrows in London. The close aide to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is seen as advocating a hard line in negotiations with London, and early in the Brexit process was blamed for leaking a confidential conversation between Juncker and Prime Minister Theresa May to the German press.

The new embassy would open in March regardless of whether the planned post-Brexit transition period goes ahead or if there is a breakdown in the negotiations resulting in no deal.

But when asked by POLITICO if Selmayr and Schmid are in the running for the position, a Commission spokeswoman said: “This is false and invented.” An EEAS spokesperson said: “This is simply and completely wrong.”

An EU spokesperson confirmed though that the new embassy would open in March regardless of whether the planned post-Brexit transition period goes ahead or if there is a breakdown in the negotiations resulting in no deal. “As of the withdrawal date from the European Union, the United Kingdom will become a third country and consequently, the [EU] should be represented from 30 March, 2019 onward by an EU delegation to the United Kingdom,” he said.

“The appointment of a head of delegation will follow the usual recruitment procedure,” he added, with foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini acting as the “appointing authority.”

Currently, the Commission has a representation office in London. The building, a stone's throw from the Palace of Westminster in Smith Square, was previously the Tory Party's central office, but was taken over by the EU in August 2010. It is not yet clear if the new delegation to the U.K. will continue to be based there.