EU/CYPRUS: EU NOT READY TO PAY MORE TOWARD

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 003224 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL MARR NL CY UNFICYP SUBJECT: EU/CYPRUS: EU NOT READY TO PAY MORE TOWARD PEACEKEEPING COSTS FOR UNFICYP REF: A. THE HAGUE 2991 ¶B. SECSTATE 241068 Karel van Kesteren (MFA Director of UN affairs) followed up on Nov 17 demarche (refs) with Poloff December 9 to report that the CONUN (EU working group on the UN) had recently discussed stronger EU funding of the UNFICYP, concluding that the EU was "very reluctant with regard to additional voluntary financing for it." He said that member states stressed "the need to uphold the normal principles for a PKO; if the world community decides that a PKO is needed, it must pay up for it, otherwise, we run the risk that we end up with peacekeeping a la carte." RUSSEL