DUTCH PESSIMISTIC ABOUT FIRST-STEP U.S.-EU CIVAIR

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 001137

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/TRA/WALKLET
USEU FOR J. KESSLER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR NL
SUBJECT: DUTCH PESSIMISTIC ABOUT FIRST-STEP U.S.-EU CIVAIR
AGREEMENT

REF: SECSTATE 91041


1. Econ counselor and econoff delivered reftel demarche to
Rene Fennes, head of international relations at the Ministry
of Transport. Fennes, who will participate in US-EU civair
negotiations in Washington beginning May 10, was pessimistic
about the likelihood of a first-step agreement before the
US-EU summit in late June. Fennes said he had seen some of
his EU colleagues' positions harden, particularly regarding
the right of establishment. He singled out the Finns, Swedes
and new EU members as being more pragmatic about their
positions.


2. Fennes said that he hoped that sufficient progress would
be made before the June US-EU summit to lay the basis for
further talks during the Dutch presidency and after,
following the establishment of a new commission in November.
He added that this depended on the negotiators' willingness
to agree in principle to further talks, and a positive
assessment of the negotiations' progress at the summit. If
it appeared there was no possibility of post-summit talks,
Fennes confided that he was seriously concerned about the
possibility the commission could force renunciations of
bilateral agreements.
SOBEL