Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BRUSSELS2674
2005-07-13 15:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:  

EU CLAIMS NO CHANGE ON NEPAL POLICY

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER PHUM EU USEU BRUSSELS 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

131550Z Jul 05
C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 002674 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA AND EUR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM EU USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU CLAIMS NO CHANGE ON NEPAL POLICY

REF: STATE 126758

Classified By: PolOff Sarah Groen for reasons 1.4 (b,d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 002674

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SA AND EUR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM EU USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: EU CLAIMS NO CHANGE ON NEPAL POLICY

REF: STATE 126758

Classified By: PolOff Sarah Groen for reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: PolOff delivered reftel discussion points
to interlocutors at the European Commission and Council and
the UK Permrep on July 11. All said no "policy statement" on
Nepal was being prepared, but the UK Presidency was preparing
an informal "internal discussion paper" on Nepal for a July
13 meeting of Council, Commission and Presidency officials on
Asia. The discussion paper did not include the language
mentioned in demarche cable, and EU contacts said their
position on Nepal (i.e. that criticism of the King's takeover
does not in any way equate to support for the Maoists) has
not changed since the last high-level discussions with
Washington. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On July 11, PolOff spoke with Rensje Teerink
(Commission desk officer for Nepal),Antonio Tanca (filling
in for the South Asia administrator at the European Council),
and James Morrison, (political officer handling Asia at the
UK Permrep in Brussels). All said they were unaware of any
paper or policy statement being prepared on Nepal. Morrison
said he would check with London, and came back with news of
the "discussion paper" being prepared for the July 13
meeting. He said he did not have the text of the paper, but
thought it was unlikely it would represent any significant
departure from the EU's previous position.


3. (C) Officials from the Commission, Council and Presidency
convened on July 13 for a meeting of the COASI troika (in the
"capitals format," meaning Presidency officials from London
and Kathmandu attended). Teerink said the discussion paper
was presented, but that it did not contain the draft text
cited in the discussion points. She said much of the
discussion on Nepal centered on the COASI troika's planned
trip to Nepal in early October. Ambassador Bloomfield, the
UK envoy to Nepal, seemed surprised by the demarche, as did
the London presidency officials, she said.


4. (C) Teerink provided an excerpt from the discussion
paper, as follows: "We should make clear to the Government
of Nepal that the EU remains supportive of a constitutional
monarchy in the context of multi-party democracy and a freely
elected civilian government, and make clear to the Maoists
that they should not mistake our criticism of the King's
takeover and subsequent actions as meaning the EU in any way
supports them."


5. (C) COMMENT: The demarche seemed to take Brussels EU and
UK Permrep contacts by surprise, with all contacts asking how
the U.S. knew about the supposed draft points (which they
claim were not included in the discussion paper in any case).
All agreed that the discussion paper and the July 13 troika
meeting led to no meaningful change in the EU's position on
Nepal. END COMMENT.

MCKINLEY
.