EU ASSET FREEZE ON FUGITIVE ICTY INDICTEES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 004317

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2009
TAGS: PREL EFIN ZL ICTY EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU ASSET FREEZE ON FUGITIVE ICTY INDICTEES

REF: USEU BRUSSELS 903

Classified By: Rick Holtzapple, PolOff, Reasons 1.4 (B/D)


1. (C) The Dutch Presidency has told us that an EU Regulation
enacting an asset freeze against the three most prominent
ICTY fugitive indictees, Mladic, Karadzic and Gotovina, will
be adopted at the October 11 General Affairs and External
Relations Council (GAERC) meeting. As reported reftel, this
measure has been under development by the EU since early in
2004, in response to a USG request.


2. (C) The Dutch Presidency is also investigating whether,
once the Regulation is adopted, the EU can ask the countries
of the Western Balkans (Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia
and Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania) to "align" themselves
with the EU's decision, as they do with many of the EU's
Common Foreign and Security Policy instruments. The Dutch
hope this would help increase pressure on these states to
take measures against the indictees.


3. (C) At the October 4 EU Balkans Working Group (COWEB)
meeting, the Dutch also secured political agreement from all
EU Member States to extend the asset freeze to cover the
other fifteen fugitives under public ICTY indictments. The
legal procedure to do that should begin a few days after
GAERC adoption of the original Regulation. If Balkan states
have aligned themselves with the original Regulation, they
would then be asked to adapt to the expanded list, which
would include several individuals living openly in Serbia.

SCHNABEL