NETHERLANDS/EU/RUSSIA: SLOUCHING TOWARD THE SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002723

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/21/2014
TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER PGOV ECON NL RU
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/EU/RUSSIA: SLOUCHING TOWARD THE SUMMIT

Classified By: POLCOUNS ANDREW J. SCHOFER FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: According to the Dutch EU Presidency, the
October 19 EU-Russia troika made only limited progress toward
finalizing agreements in the four "common spaces" preparation
for the November 11 EU-Russia summit. Outstanding differences
remain in the areas of external security (where the Russians
reportedly do not want to engage on the basis of the EU's
"common neighborhood" policy with regard to the states of the
former Soviet Union) and freedom, security, and justice
(where Russian proposals to promote counter-terrorism
cooperation have raised human rights and civil liberties
concerns on the EU side.) Although the EU insists that the
four agreements should only be announced as a package, both
sides have agreed to be flexible in implementing specific
proposals if the package is not completed by the summit. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) Tony van der Togt, Director of the Dutch MFA's Office
of Eastern and Central European Affairs, told POLCOUNS on
October 20 that the EU-Russia Ministerial Troika on October
19 in The Hague made only limited progress toward finalizing
preparations for the November 11 EU-Russia summit. Van der
Togt noted that the "slow pace" of discussions made it
unlikely that the EU and Russia would conclude agreements
with regard to the "four common spaces" put on the agenda
last year in St. Petersburg. He stressed that the EU would
continue to insist that all four agreements (which he
characterized as "political declarations" or "roadmaps")
should be treated as a single package and announced
simultaneously.


3. (C) Of the four "common spaces," van der Togt said that
work in the common economic space (including trade,
investment, telecommunications, transport, energy, and
environment issues) and the "research, education, and
culture" spaces had progressed the farthest. Van der Togt
noted that Prime Minister Fradkov's visit to The Hague on
September 29 had helped smooth the way for the EU to offer
Russia "most favored nation" status. Russia's decision to
ratify the Kyoto Protocol, he added, also removed an obstacle
to improved economic relations. Van der Togt noted that
Russia had earlier tried to de-link environmental issues from
the economic dialogue, but now understood that the EU could
not engage fully unless its concerns in this area were taken
seriously. On the research/education/culture space, Van der
Togt said that the only remaining questions to discuss fall
into the category of "who pays for what" and would likely be
resolved soon. Van der Togt saw no major obstacles in
principle to concluding roadmaps in both areas by the summit,
although he reiterated any such agreements would not be
announced until the full package was ready.


4. (C) With regard to the "freedom, security, and justice"
common space, van der Togt said that several "sticky
questions" remained with regard to the appropriate role of
human rights and rule of law discussions. He added that the
Russians had pushed hard to strengthen anti-terrorism
cooperation, but had quickly run up against European civil
liberties concerns by demanding the extradition of
high-profile Chechen asylum seekers and restricting their
access to the media. (Note: Van den Togt said that the EU
deliberately chose not to raise Chechnya as a separate issue
during the discussions, although he expected it would come up
during the summit.) Van den Togt said that there would be an
experts-level meeting in Brussels to consider Russian
proposals in this area, followed by a ministerial JHA meeting
in Luxembourg next Tuesday. The EU also plans to send EU
Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gijs de Vries to Moscow in
early November (prior to the summit) to explore possible
areas of cooperation, which might be reflected in a joint
summit statement. Van der Togt was skeptical, however, that
a roadmap for this space would be completed in time for the
summit.


5. (C) Van der Togt was even less optimistic about concluding
a roadmap with regard to the final common space, "external
security." Van der Togt said that the Russian delegation did
not want to engage on the basis of the EU's "common
neighborhood" policy focusing on the states of the former
Soviet Union. According to van der Togt, the Russians
increasingly view EU interest in this area as unwelcome
interference in Russia's sphere of influence. The Russian
side also dismissed OSCE involvement the former Soviet space
as lopsided and biased against Russian. (Note: Van den Togt
noted that this message appeared inconsistent with the
approach of the Russian mission to the OSCE, but stressed
that Lavrov was quite blunt in expressing his views.)
Although the EU side suggested updating mechanisms for
addressing issues of common concern in Moldova and the
Caucasus, van den Togt felt that the Russian side showed
little interest in modifying processes that currently favor
Russian interests. The Russian side was also unrealistic, he
said, in seeking a "visa free regime" with the EU by 2008 and
pushing hard for EU concessions on Kaliningrad transit
arrangements.


6. (C) Despite the lack of substantial progress in some
areas, van der Togt described the talks as "businesslike" and
cordial. There was no evidence of any remaining bad blood
over FM Bot's earlier remarks about the Beslan tragedy, he
added. Both sides agreed that while the roadmaps would only
move forward as a "package," they would exercise flexibility
with regard to implementing specific positive steps if
appropriate. In any event, van der Togt said, the "roadmaps"
would only cover the period from now until 2007 because the
current EU-Russia association agreement expires in 2008 and
will need to be renegotiated.


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