Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BRUSSELS1226
2005-03-24 07:51:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:  

U.S.-EU CONSULTATIONS ON OSCE

Tags:  PREL PHUM OSCE EUN RU USEU BRUSSELS 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 001226 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RPM GRETA HOLTZ; EUR/ERA AMY CARNIE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2015
TAGS: PREL PHUM OSCE EUN RU USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: U.S.-EU CONSULTATIONS ON OSCE

REF: A. A) USEU TODAY 03/11/05

B. B) STATE 43096

C. C) USEU TODAY 03/16/05

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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 001226

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RPM GRETA HOLTZ; EUR/ERA AMY CARNIE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2015
TAGS: PREL PHUM OSCE EUN RU USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: U.S.-EU CONSULTATIONS ON OSCE

REF: A. A) USEU TODAY 03/11/05

B. B) STATE 43096

C. C) USEU TODAY 03/16/05

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: In meetings with USOSCE Ambassador Stephan

M. Minikes, EU officials said:

--in light of growing Russian intransigence on democracy
issues, the EU is preparing a strategy on how to respond to
the Russian challenge in OSCE;

--Russia is blocking democracy promotion in the Council of
Europe (CoE),also, and the EU is preparing for the May CoE
summit, which is set to address relations between the two
organizations;

--while the EU has several options on the table, the EU
remains reticent about a full-fledged EU border monitoring
operation because of likely Russian objections;

--the EU is raising the Moldova/Ukraine border issue with
Ukraine at all levels;

-- the EU agreed with the need to speak out often in the OSCE
on developments in Belarus * not with the expectation that
it will influence the regime, but as a signal of support to
democratic forces and lower-level officials.

--the EU will discuss internally the advisability of
reappointing in 2006 the three Personal Representatives of
the OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CiO) on Tolerance;

--getting the Kazakhs to live up to OSCE standards in
exchange for the OSCE Chairmanship in 2009 is "back on the EU
agenda."

During EU deliberations on the future of the OSCE and
relations between it and the CoE, we must ensure the EU keeps
in mind the OSCE's value as an important venue for continued
U.S. engagement with OSCE participating states. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Participants
--------------


2. (U) On March 11, The EU hosted a U.S. delegation headed by
USOSCE Ambassador Stephan M. Minikes for the biannual U.S.-EU
"COSCE" consultations on the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Minikes also had meetings with
two top officials in EU HighRep Javier Solana's Council
Secretariat: Pieter Feith, Deputy Director-General for


SIPDIS
Political-Military Affairs (see REF A),and Christoph
Heusgen, Director of the Policy Unit. The following
participated in the COSCE consultations:

EU Delegation
--------------

Luxembourg (current EU Presidency):

Ronald Mayer, Ambassador to the CoE
Beatrice Kirsch, Deputy Permanent Representative to the OSCE
Fabienne Rossler, Attachee, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

United Kingdom (successor to Luxembourg in EU Presidency):

Timothy Morris, Head of International Organizations
Department, FCO
Annabelle Malins, Team Leader for OSCE/CoE Section, FCO

European Commission:

Gilbert Dubois, Head of Unit for OSCE and CoE, DG External
Relations
Michael Meyer-Resende, Desk Officer, Human Rights Unit, DG
External Relations

EU Council Secretariat:

Alison Weston, OSCE and CoE Desk Officer

U.S. delegation
--------------

Stephan M. Minikes, Ambassador to the OSCE
Christopher Davis, Consul General AmConGen Strasbourg
Greta Holtz, OSCE Coordinator, EUR/RPM
Stephen Steger, Political Officer, USOSCE Vienna
Todd Huizinga, Political Officer, USEU Brussels

-------------- --------------
EU DEVELOPING STRATEGY ON HANDLING RUSSIA IN OSCE
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Minikes reported that Secretary Rice had told Russian
FM Lavrov during their meeting in Ankara on February 5 of
deep U.S. concerns over how Russia was treating the OSCE,
especially as a founding member of the organization, and
urged Russia to be more supportive and positive. Minikes
said that, in effect, Russia was trying to deny the benefits
of democracy to about 200 million people living in the CIS,
and that the U.S. and EU could not allow Russia to speak for
these countries. Minikes said the U.S. and EU needed to
create a situation in which Russia,s national interests no
longer were served by its present policy in the OSCE. Just
making the argument that Russia,s interests were better
served by closing the &democracy gap,8 he said, was not
enough.


4. (C) Our EU interlocutors replied that, while we needed to
be tough with the Russians, we also needed to get to a
"positive atmosphere" with the Russians to keep them from
withdrawing into a shell. Heusgen said the EU was working on
a strategy paper on how the EU should react to the Russian
challenge in the OSCE. He said the strategy, which would be
discussed at the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) in
the coming weeks, needed two tracks: (1) how to save the
OSCE; and (2) alternatives to the OSCE for cases in which
Russia remained intransigent. Minikes warned that there
would be a limit to what the EU could and should do without
involving the U.S. via the OSCE. Heusgen agreed, but
reiterated that the EU had to be "ready to act" if necessary.
(NOTE: We have since heard that the EU aims to have the
strategy agreed in time for the EU-Russia summit in May. END
NOTE.)

--------------
RUSSIA ALSO A PROBLEM IN COE
--------------


5. (C) Mayer, the Luxembourg Ambassador to the Council of
Europe (CoE),said Russia was attempting to water down CoE
human rights promotion and election monitoring, just as in
the OSCE. The May 16-17 CoE Summit in Warsaw would focus,
among other things, on improving coordination and lessening
unproductive overlaps between CoE and OSCE; Russia might try
to hijack this reform discussion to move some OSCE activities
to the CoE and vice versa, in order to weaken both
organizations' democracy and human rights oversight. Minikes
thanked Mayer for raising the CoE-OSCE issue, and pointed out
that in discussing relations between the two organizations
member states should not forget that the U.S. is a member of
OSCE and not of CoE; thus, the U.S. might oppose any CoE-OSCE
division of labor that lessens the OSCE,s role in the OSCE
region. Russian behavior must be dealt with effectively in
both organizations.

--------------
MIXED SIGNALS ON EU INVOLVEMENT IN GEORGIA
--------------


6. (C) After having gone over EU internal discussions on
Georgia border monitoring with EU Council Deputy Director
General Pieter Feith (REF A) on March 10, Minikes delivered,
at the March 11 COSCE, REF B demarche points urging the EU to
establish an EU BMO in Georgia. The EU COSCE interlocutors
confirmed that the EU still had all its options on the table,
including a full-fledged EU-flagged BMO, but implied they did
not want to risk damaging relations with Russia by moving too
quickly. Both Feith and EU Council Policy Unit Director
Christoph Heusgen, in separate meetings, seemed more forward
leaning. Heusgen especially emphasized the EU's
determination to step in if the OSCE could not. Heusgen, a
German, claimed he had seen a German MFA paper urging the EU
move in if the OSCE BMO is brought to a definitive end.
(NOTE: Our impression of continued EU indecision on this
issue was later affirmed (REF C) by the March 15 decision of
the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC) to send the
question of an EU-flagged Georgia BMO back to the
working-group level for further discussion. END NOTE.)

--------------
UKRAINE NEEDED TO SOLVE MOLDOVA/TRANSNISTRIA
--------------


7. (C) Minikes pointed out that Ukraine needed to be engaged
to resolve the Moldova/Transnistria problem, especially since
Russia remained uncooperative. Kirsch replied that the EU
was raising with the Ukrainian government at all levels the
need to patrol the Ukraine/Moldova border and clamp down on
smuggling and trafficking. Dubois said the European
Commission was offering more support for patrolling and
monitoring as well as pushing better monitoring of
cross-border trade flows. Nonetheless, Kirsch suggested, a
lack of working-level cooperation from Ukraine called into
question the Ukrainian leadership's willingness to expend
political capital on the issue. Minikes said high-level
engagement with the Ukrainians would be necessary to get
Ukraine truly engaged. Heusgen said the EU would appoint a
Special Representative for Moldova, former Dutch Ambassador
Adriaan Jacobovits, on March 16.

--------------
MAINTAINING PRESSURE ON BELARUS
--------------


8. (C) Secretary Rice had aptly characterized Belarus as an
&outpost of tyranny,8 Ambassador Minikes said. Since the
October 17 elections, repression of independent civil society
and democratic political parties appeared to have only
intensified. The OSCE,s means of influencing the regime
were limited, but we needed to keep the pressure on by
limiting official contact, actively monitoring abuses, and by
publicly condemning Belarusian repression whenever possible.
In this last respect, Ambassador Minikes appealed to the EU
to be more outspoken at the OSCE on developments in Belarus,
not with the expectation that doing so would influence the
regime, but as a signal of support to democratic forces and
lower-level officials. The EU agreed with Ambassador
Minikes,s assessment; publicly highlighting the regime,s
abuses was one of the most useful tools at our disposal for
promoting democracy in Belarus. Another was leadership. In
that respect, the EU asked if the U.S. had made any decision
about who we would support as a successor to Ambassador
Heykin, who would be stepping down as the OSCE,s Head of
Office in Minsk in July. Ambassador Minikes said that we had
not settled on a particular candidate, but agreed on the need
to find a strong one.

--------------
DISCUSSION ON CORDOBA CONFERENCE, TOLERANCE
--------------


9. (C) Minikes stressed that combating intolerance was not a
sideshow but one of the most important tasks the OSCE had
taken on in recent years. In that vein, the U.S. hoped the
June 8-9 Cordoba Conference on Anti-Semitism and Other Forms
of Intolerance would focus on what remained to be done, in
the media, legislative, and other arenas, to oppose the
forces of intolerance. The U.S. looked forward, Minikes
said, to the progress reports at Cordoba from the OSCE CiO's
three Personal Representatives on Intolerance; Minikes said
the EU should urge Belgium, set to be the CiO in 2006, to
reappoint the Personal Reps if, as expected, their work could
not be completed in 2005. Kirsch responded that she would
bring the issue of a possible reappointment before the EU
"COSCE" Working Group on the OSCE, and urge the EU to come to
a common position on the matter. Kirsch said the Luxembourg
EU Presidency would be represented at Cordoba by ForMin
Asselborn, and that several other EU delegations would likely
also be led by ministerial-level officials.

--------------
LEVERAGING KAZAKH CIO-SHIP IN 2009?
--------------


10. (C) Minikes reported that he would visit Kazakhstan again
in mid-April. He said he would press the Kazakh government on
what it was willing to do so that, by the time of its
proposed OSCE CiO-ship in 2009, Kazakhstan would adequately
reflect OSCE human-rights and democracy standards in its
domestic policy. Minikes warned that a 2009 CiO-ship for
Kazakhstan should not be an automatic, done deal; Kazakhstan
should only be given the CiO-ship if it is clearly on the
right track toward upholding OSCE values. Morris said the
Kazakh CiO-ship was "back on the EU agenda, although I can't
predict how the EU position will turn out." He admitted that
the EU had been sending mixed signals on the issue, and said
the UK position was that the EU should more clearly state
that a 2009 CiO-ship was "not yet certain."

--------------
SELECTION OF NEW OSCE SECGEN
--------------


11. (C) Minikes said a new Secretary General of the OSCE
needed to be named soon, no later than May. Minikes urged
his EU interlocutors to intervene with the Slovenian CiO on
the need actively to build consensus around a candidate:
"we've told the CiO that building consensus is a contact
sport, not a spectator sport; it would be helpful if the EU
could underline that message."

--------------
COE CONVENTION ON KOSOVO
--------------

12. (SBU) Mayer urged the U.S. to push NATO to agree to CoE
inspections of detention centers in Kosovo per the CoE
Convention on the Prevention of Torture (CPT). He said NATO
was withholding approval of CPT Commission visits of KFOR
detention centers, thus keeping the CPT from "doing its job
in Kosovo." Minikes said he would report Mayer's concerns
back to Washington, but that the proper venue for raising
this issue is NATO.

--------------
COE: U.S. DEATH PENALTY CASES
--------------


13. (SBU) Mayer closed the meeting by raising current death
penalty cases in the U.S. that are of particular concern to
the CoE. Mayer said the stated desire to be put to death of
serial killer Michael Ross, facing execution in Connecticut
on May 11, might be due to the "psychological" effects of
death row. He noted that the CoE had written the governor on
January 28 asking for clemency. Mayer also noted the case of
Daryl Atkins. He said the CoE and the EU were troubled by
the fact that Atkins now tests at an I.Q. of 76, above the
minimum of 70 required for the death penalty. When he
committed his crime, Mayer said, Atkins' I.Q. was 59.
Minikes thanked Mayer for his comments and assured him that
the death penalty was the subject of constant vigorous debate
in the U.S.

-------------- ---
COMMENT: U.S. SHOULD ENGAGE EU TO SAFEGUARD OSCE
-------------- ---


14. (C) As the EU deliberates internally on the future of the
OSCE and the relations between OSCE and CoE, we must continue
to remind the EU of the OSCE's unique value as an
organization which provides a venue for U.S. influence in
Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. While we
should welcome EU and CoE engagement on democracy, human
rights and election observation in the OSCE region, these
should supplement, and not replace, OSCE engagement on these
fronts. END COMMENT.


15. (U) This message has been cleared by Ambassador Minikes.

MCKINLEY
.