OFFICIAL-INFORMAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000075

SIPDIS

FOR EUR A/S JONES AND DAS CONLEY FROM AMBASSADOR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2014
TAGS: AMGT
SUBJECT: OFFICIAL-INFORMAL


Classified By: Ambassador Earle I. Mack for reasons 1.4(B) and (D)


1. (C) Beth, I would like to ask for your support and
assistance in requesting that the President meet bilaterally
with Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen on February 22 on
the margins of the U.S.-EU meeting in Brussels.


2. (C) To the best of our knowledge, the two leaders have
never met -- and certainly not since Vanhanen became Prime
Minister in June, 2003. Vanhanen has requested a meeting
repeatedly since he was newly elected, and it has been
discussed frequently at Embassy levels. A bilateral meeting
would help establish a relationship that could pay off
handsomely in the months to come. Finland will assume the EU
presidency in July of next year, and if the Constitution
Treaty takes effect as planned in November 2006 the Finns
will be the transition team that guides the Union into the
EU's new structure. PM Vanhanen will likely head that team
and the presidency of the EU during that period. Thus it
would be extremely beneficial for the President to have met
with him early on, to cement a relationship. In addition,
Vanhanen has given indications, publicly and in private
conversations with me, that if prospects look favorable, he
would like to run for the Finnish presidency in 2006. As you
know, he represents the Center Party, while Tarja Halonen is
SDP, and Vanhanen's popularity rating is second only to
Halonen's. It is possible Halonen may not even run, in favor
of a high-profile world humanitarian post (such as UN
Secretary General).

SIPDIS


3. (C) If a President-PM meeting were held, it should focus
on shared values. These shared values have given rise to
U.S.-Finnish cooperation in many of the areas highest on the
U.S. agenda:

-- The two nations' commitment to democracy in Iraq. Finland
does not have troops on the ground, but they were the first
to pledge support for the UN protection force, and made good
on their one-million-euro pledge as soon as the trust fund
was set up last month. They also have police trainers in
Amman (they started with five and increased it to ten),and
they have told us that if the EU were to establish an office
in Baghdad to assist the Iraqis with building the
institutions of civil society, they might be able to
contribute civilian experts.

-- The two nations' shared dedication to reconstruction in
Afghanistan. The Finns have made clear they are in for the
duration. They have done a considerable amount, given the
size of their resources. They have 20 troops and three
civilians in the UK/Finnish/Norwegian Provincial
Reconstruction Team in Meymaneh in the north, 60 CIMIC troops
in Kabul, and even a half-dozen firefighters in the Nordic
team at Kabul airport. They have contributed ten million
euros to humanitarian assistance, and will contribute ten
million more this year, making Afghanistan one of the single
largest country recipients of their humanitarian aid.

-- Worldwide resolve in the face of international terrorism.
When the U.S. embassies in this region issued their warden
messages last October 30 -- an extraordinary event in this
neighborhood, where people still believe 'it can't happen
here' -- Vanhanen told the press that "warnings of this kind
are always taken very seriously." Combating terrorism is one
of the themes of the new GoF white paper on security policy
that was issued to great fanfare in September and endorsed by
Parliament last month.

-- Support for Turkish EU accession. Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn is also Center Party, and was
appointed by Vanhanen; former President Ahtisaari, who
chaired the independent commission that did the study of
Turkey and the EU, is a vocal proponent of Turkish
membership. Finland took an early, proactive position on the
issue, and will remain a key player in EU deliberations and a
natural U.S. ally.

-- Stability in the Balkans. The Finns were the first
non-NATO nation to lead a regional contingent in KFOR, and
will be playing an important role in EUFOR. In doing so,
they acknowledge the importance of the U.S. (In an April
speech to Center Party colleagues, Vanhanen said, "We should
remember how toothless Europe stood ten years ago when
Yugoslavia fell apart. Without the U.S. the conflicts of
former Yugoslavia could not have been handled.")

-- Our shared commitment to progress in human rights,
including in battling trafficking in persons. The Finns
currently hold the de facto Nordic seat on the UN Commission
on Human Rights, and consult closely with us on UNCHR issues.
They are working their way back from the debacle of being
the only EU nation placed in Tier 2 of the 2003 TIP Report,
and have in place a new anti-trafficking law, with penalties
that have real bite, and a government working group on TIP.
A meeting could acknowledge this progress.
-- Cooperation on nonproliferation. The Finns quickly signed
onto the Global Partnership (which the G-8 acknowledged at
Evian),and firmly support the Proliferation Security
Initiative. As Russia's neighbors, they are as concerned as
we by the environmental and security risks of the decaying
post-Soviet Russian nuclear establishment.


4. (C) We have told the Finns, with no minced words, that
they would have to bring deliverables to such a meeting. We
know they have gotten the message. From our side, we believe
that a meeting would pay dividends during the Finnish EU
presidency and for some time to come. Of all of Finland's
senior leadership, PM Vanhanen has been the most consistent
in support of the American agenda, and he places strong
emphasis on the critical importance to Finland and Europe of
trans-Atlantic relations. Recognizing this fact could reap
significant rewards. If you agree, I hope you will recommend
such a meeting to the White House.


5. (U) With warmest regards -- Earle
MACK