ENSURING A COORDINATED U.S.-EU MESSAGE IN BIH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 005393

SIPDIS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV EFIN BK EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: ENSURING A COORDINATED U.S.-EU MESSAGE IN BIH

REF: A. STATE 271449

B. STATE 267711

C. STATE 257497

D. SARAJEVO 3294

E. USEU BRUSSELS 5226

F. THE HAGUE 3301

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

SUMMARY
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1. (C) Our messages alerting the EU to Operation Balkan Vice
measures (REFS B and C) apparently did not penetrate very far
into the EU apparatus. Although the EU and Solana's office
have been supportive of the measures taken by High Rep
Ashdown, and understand the steps taken by the US in support
of OHR, failure to convey that message to their missions in
B-H has led to grumbling from assorted EU officials in
Sarajevo (REF D). The necessary staff work for the EU to
expand its own travel ban and asset freeze measures has not
yet been done, however, and will probably have to await the
Luxembourg Presidency to see what might be possible. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) PolOff discussed REF A points with the relevant EU
officials available in Brussels this close to the Christmas
holiday. The EU is indeed hydra-headed. To wit:


3. (C/NF) Stefan Muller, of the Council's Balkan Task Force,
told us Solana feels Ashdown did not keep him fully informed
about what OHR was doing. Solana was complaining about this
as recently as Dec. 20. This is, so far, an internal issue.
Solana made a very good public statement in support of the
OHR measures on Dec. 16. (NOTE: There is no reason Solana
should feel suprised by the measures we announced. We
delivered REF B details to Solana's chief Balkans advisor
Stefan Lehne the morning of Dec. 17, and know that he went
directly from our meeting to a briefing of the assembled EU
PolDirs on both the OHR and US measures. END NOTE.)


4. (C) At the Commission, Mia Asenius of Enlargement
Commissioner Rehn's staff (which also has responsibility for
the Balkans) said the Commission definitely supports
Ashdown's measures. She said Commissioner Rehn met with B-H
FM Ivanic during his visit immediately after the OHR measures
were imposed only because Ivanic was still officially the FM
at the time, and Rehn did not want to do anything that could
provoke more of a political crisis. Asenius noted there had
been some grumbling in Rehn's meeting with assembled EU heads
of missions about not having been informed of US measures.
She added that some within the EU, including at the
Commission, are nervous that reaction to the combined OHR and
US measures could lead to the fall of the state-level
government and new elections. They worry this would further
delay B-H's progress toward a Stabilization and Association
Agreement, which for some within the EU is the highest
priority.


5. (C) The Dutch chair (protect) of the EU's Western Balkans
Working Group (COWEB) here in Brussels told us he was
surprised at any flap about OHR's measures, as he had
understood that, beyond Solana's own statement, an EU HOMs
statement in Sarajevo supportive of Ashdown was supposed to
have been teed up. He said he would check with The Hague to
see what might have happened to such a statement. (We note
REF F from The Hague also refers to a HOMs statement.)


6. (C) Regarding EU travel bans/asset freezes, our Dutch
contact told us nothing had been prepared within COWEB to
expand the EU's travel ban list. He said that in at least
some past actions by OHR, such steps would have been underway
in advance to make the EU's list conform with OHR's --
although not necessarily the US's. If Ashdown has now added
specific individuals to his list of ICTY obstructionists,
there may be scope (but probably not until under the
Luxembourg Presidency in January) for the EU to expand it's
own travel ban list to cover them. Asset freezes on these
types of individuals, as we have seen time and again with the
EU, are unlikely.


7. (C) In all of the above conversations, PolOff has
underlined to EU contacts that we had given the EU a heads up
we were planning measures to support those we understood OHR
was preparing; and it was vital that all of us should now
stay on message in support of Ashdown's measures. Even if
the EU does not take similar steps to the US on travel bans
and asset freezes against further individuals, our steps have
usefully gotten the attention of people who have been
blocking progress in the RS. All of our contacts understood
the message. Given holiday absences, however, we cannot
guarantee that Brussels will have any immediate success in
better informing or curbing freelance commentary from various
EU reps in Sarajevo.

MCKINLEY