NETHERLANDS/EU/IRAQ: UN PROTECTION FORCE POINTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 002910 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2014 TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS NL IZ EUN UN SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/EU/IRAQ: UN PROTECTION FORCE POINTS DELIVERED REF: STATE 240281 Classified By: POLCOUNS ANDREW J. SCHOFER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). (C) On November 10, POLCOUNS delivered reftel points on disbursing pledges for the UN protection force in Iraq to Adri van Loopik, head of the MFA's Iraq/Iran desk. PolMilOff conveyed separately to MFA Security Policy Department Operations Director Rob Gabrielse. Van Loopik understood that the UN was so far reluctant to establish a UN Trust Fund (the EU's prepared option) and took on board that the EU (and/or individual states) needed to move quickly to establish an alternate mechanism if such a trust fund were not forthcoming. He did not indicate what the Dutch planned to do at this point to move the process forward, either as EU president or as a member state, but said that our views would be taken into account in either case. SOBEL