KOFI ANNAN AND THE EU: MULTILATERALISM, MONEY AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000728

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/ERA, IO/UNP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2014
TAGS: PREL EAID UNGA UN EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: KOFI ANNAN AND THE EU: MULTILATERALISM, MONEY AND
MIGRATION

REF: A. A) USEU TODAY 1/30/04


B. B) STATE 15070

C. C) BRUSSELS 14

D. D) USMISSION USUN 79

E. E) 03 BRUSSELS 5126

F. F) 03 BRUSSELS 4424

Classified By: USEU POLOFF TODD HUIZINGA, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: UNSYG Kofi Annan used his January 28-30
visit to Brussels to lecture the EU in public on the need to
have more open migration policies, while holding private
talks on a range of world hotspots. The EU showcased its
commitment to a policy of "effective multilateralism"
centered around the UN. END SUMMARY.

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ANNAN TO EU: WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?
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2. (C) Our interlocutor in the UN Affairs Office of the
Commission's External Relations Directorate-General told us
that Annan's meeting with the European Commissioners was
largely a tour d'horizon of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Middle
East peace process, and Cyprus. Annan asked for a greater EU
contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria (GFATM). He also said the EU should play a
leading role in the Global Commission on Migration. Annan
welcomed the EU commitment to multilateralism as expressed in
the recently approved Commission White Paper on the UN (refs
E-F),and thanked the Commission for its desire to support
the High-Level Panel on UN Reform. All in all, though, our
source said Annan was more interested in what the EU could do
for the UN here and now than in the EU's more ambitious,
long-range ideas on "effective multilateralism."

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ANNAN SPEECH CRITICIZES EU MIGRATION POLICIES
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3. (U) On January 29, Annan received the European
Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, in
special honor of the UN officials who died in Iraq. To the
surprise of a nearly full chamber of MEPs, Annan's address
focused on Europe's need to manage immigration better. While
praising Europe in the speech's introduction for pursuing
"the path of peace through multilateralism," Annan did not
mince words on the need to integrate immigrants while
accepting their diverse backgrounds: "Migrants need Europe.
But Europe also needs migrants. A closed Europe would be a
meaner, poorer, weaker, older Europe."

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EU OFFICIALS: UN GLOBAL APPLICATION OF EU MODEL
-------------- --


4. (U) Annan's discussion of migration notwithstanding, EU
officials used the award to promote the EU's "effective
multilateralism" strategy. EC Ambassador to the UN John
Richardson argued at a roundtable discussion that a
strengthened UN would follow the example of the EU: "EU and
UN goals are congruent -- peace, stability and prosperity
throughout the world....For the EU, the UN is the global
application of what the EU believes in internally: collective
action through international institutions." Richardson added
that the EC's current UN observer status would become
insufficient if the final EU constitutional treaty gave the
EU legal personality and established the post of EU Foreign
Minister.

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UN AT CENTER OF SOLANA SECURITY STRATEGY
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5. (SBU) At the same event, Jim Cloos, EU HighRep Javier
Solana's Director for Transatlantic Relations, UN Affairs and
Human Rights, emphasized that the essence of Javier Solana's
European Security Strategy (ESS) (ref C) was effective
multilateralism. He said 21st century security challenges
could be met only by the "international community with the UN
at its center."

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EU'S EFFECTIVE MULTILATERALISM GATHERS STEAM
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6. (SBU) Coming at a time that coincided with the Commission
White Paper on the EU in the UN, the EP report on the same
topic, and EU leaders' endorsement of both the ESS and the
Commission paper, the visit has built considerable momentum
for the latest Brussels catchphrase, "effective
multilateralism." The EU institutions are working on keeping
the momentum going: the Commission has started regular
dialogues between regional Commission and UN desk officers to
increase working-level cooperation, for example, and the EU
has invited Deputy UNSYG Louise Frechette to Brussels in
March to discuss operational follow-up to Annan's visit.

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COMMENT: EU COMMITTED TO UN-BASED APPROACH
--------------


7. (C) Annan's visit underlined yet again the strong
commitment of EU elites to a UN-centric approach to world
affairs. This commitment will clash from time to time with
U.S. interests, especially since some in the EU see the U.S.
as standing for the opposite paradigm of "unilateralism." We
continue to tell our EU interlocutors that the US is equally
committed to effective multilateralism, but that we prefer to
put the emphasis on effectiveness, and must be prepared to
act in the protection of US national interests with
like-minded partners in the absence of multilateral
consensus. END COMMENT.

SCHNABEL