IF IT'S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE BRUSSELS: VISIT OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000899

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/ERA, NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2010
TAGS: PREL KPAL PTER EAID IS EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: IF IT'S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE BRUSSELS: VISIT OF
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT ABBAS

Classified By: USEU POLOFF LEE LITZENBERGER; REASONS 1.4.(B,D)


1. (C) Summary. EU officials pledged full support to
Palestinian Authority President Abbas during the London
Conference and his March 2 visit to Brussels. Abbas told the
Commission that Hizballah, not Hamas, posed the biggest
threat to the PA, but told Solana that designating Hizballah
would be counterproductive. The Commission is pondering a
policy to address whether and how to deal with Hamas officals
who are elected to office. The EU favors moving ahead to
discuss final status issues sooner than the U.S., or Israel,
may be prepared to support. End Summary.

Luxembourg, EU Reaffirm Commitment to Palestinian Authority
--------------

2. (U) At the March 1 London Conference, Palestinian
Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas received strong
messages of support from the EU. Luxembourg Prime Minister
Juncker and Foreign Minister Asselborn, on behalf of the EU
presidency, used the March 1 London Conference to reaffirm
the EU's political and financial commitment to the PA's
reform efforts. In a speech to Conference participants,
Asselborn lauded the Palestinians' pursuit of democracy and
underscored the international community's critical role in
supporting their goal of eventual statehood. He also
highlighted the EU's history of humanitarian, development,
and budgetary aid to the PA since 1980. Recalling the
agreements reached at Sharm-el-Sheik and looking ahead toward
a "negotiated settlement based on international law,"
Asselborn emphasized the necessity of an end to terrorist
attacks in the region, appealing to both parties for
immediate implementation of the Quartet's roadmap. On the
margins of the Conference, Asselborn, EU High Rep S
olana, and External Relations Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner
attended a meeting of the Quartet.

Abbas in Brussels
--------------

3. (U) On Tuesday, March 2, Abbas traveled to Brussels,
where he met separately with Juncker and Asselborn, Solana,
Ferrero-Waldner, lunched with Commission President Barroso,
and then met with European Parliament President Borrel.
Juncker and Asselborn assured Abbas that the EU would
continue to support the strengthening of Palestinian
institutions and the PA's reform efforts in the security
arena. They also expressed the EU's hope that the assistance
pledged at the London Conference would help the PA tackle its
most pressing social and economic needs. In a joint press
conference after his meeting with Barroso, Abbas appealed to
the EU to help rebuild key infrastructure in Gaza, including
the seaport that was destroyed by Israeli forces. Barroso
took up the theme, noting his disappointment that "some
concrete support" the EU had "been giving with taxpayer's
money to help the Palestinian poeple has been destroyed" and
underlined his commitment to end violence "from Israel or the
terrorist groups." In an earlier press conference following
his meeting with Solana, Abbas said Palestinians wanted
statehood "as soon as possible." Solana quipped in reply,
"the sooner the better." European Parliament President
Borrell indicated that, if there is sufficient progress in
the peace process, a global conference of parliamentarians
could hold a special session in the Palestinian territories
in November.

Hizballah and Hamas
--------------

4. (C) According to a Commission official who was present
at Abbas' meetings at the Commission, Abbas told the EC that
Hizballah, not Hamas, posed the greatest threat to the PA.
With Solana, however, Abbas was less direct. According to
two Council officials who were in the Solana meeting, Abbas
said that he thought an EU decision to designate Hizballah as
a terrorist organization would be "counterproductive." Abbas
told both Council and Commission interlocutors he was
comfortable with Hamas' commitment to the inter-Palestinian
ceasefire; Hamas was proving reliable. Our Commission
interlocutor said his institution was wrestling with the
issue of whether and how to work with elected Hamas
officials, given that the EU clearinghouse had designated
Hamas for terrorism finance purposes. The Commission, he
said, was particularly vulnerable on this issue, and recalled
the beating it had taken from the European Parliament two
years ago over concerns that EU assistance to the PA could
have been diverted to terrorist groups. The EC is thinking
of a policy that permits "operational" contact with elected
Hamas officials, while maintaining an embargo on "political"
contact with the organization's leadership. How, our contact
asked, will the U.S. handle this issue. In particular, what
will U.S. election observers do if, during the July local
elections, Hamas candidates want to register complaints?

Next Steps: Are US and EU in sync?
--------------

5. (C) The Commission official commented that US-EU
communication and coordination on the peace process was
extremely good. He had high praise for NEA A/S Burns, PDAS
Satterfield, and DAS Dibble. He was also effusive regarding
President Bush's Brussels speech last month, which called for
a Palestinian state with a West Bank component with
contiguous borders.


6. (C) Nonetheless, our contact identified one area where
the US and EU might be on divergent paths: the issue of when
to push the parties to begin discussing final status issues.
The EU wants to move quickly to this next phase, while the
U.S. seems more focused on working issues one step at a time.
This goes back, our contact said, to the first line of the
Roadmap, which calls for a "performance based and goal
driven" process. The U.S. inserted "performance based,"
while the EU insisted on the term "goal driven." The EU
remains convinced that PA President Abbas needs to
demonstrate to the Palestinian people that his policy of
engagement will lead to results on final status issues. Our
Commission interlocutor did not see this as a major
disagreement with the U.S., but noted that just as the EU
raised this issue privately during the Quartet meeting in
London, it will continue to press this point. At the
Council, our contacts said it was clear Sharon had his work
cut out simply to accomplish the Gaza withdrawal.
Nonetheless, it was essential that Israel take steps that
would improve "quality of life" for Palestinians -- easing
closures and restrictions on movement, and perhaps more
prisoner releases. After Gaza withdrawal is complete,
though, these officials said, Israel will have to be prepared
to take steps on West Bank settlements, the barrier, and move
on to final status issues.


7. (U) This cable was prepared with input from Embassy
Luxembourg.
.