NETHERLANDS/GAERC: DUTCH VIEWS ON JULY 18-19 GAERC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001988

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2015
TAGS: PREL AORC NL EUN
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/GAERC: DUTCH VIEWS ON JULY 18-19 GAERC

REF: THE HAGUE 01073

Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Nathaniel Dean for reasons 1.
4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Poloff participated in the Dutch
pre-briefing for the GAERC to be held in Brussels on July
18-19. It will emphasize the fight against terror, in light
of the recent London bombings. On Lebanon and Syria, the
Dutch believe the situation in Lebanon is "very fragile" and
that the international community should place more pressure
on Syria to reduce its influence over the Lebanese. On Iran,
the Dutch are skeptical over the extent to which the new
president in Iran will carry any credibility. The Dutch may
be becoming more hesitant on Turkish accession to the EU; the
Dutch parliament will discuss the Commission's draft
negotiations framework soon after the opening of its next
session August 29. The Dutch acknowledged that the June 30
deadline regarding the Andijon incident had passed and
affirmed that the EU would employ a gradual policy of
"carrots and sticks" as a way to induce Uzbekistan's
cooperation. Finally, the Dutch lamented the situation in
Zimbabwe, fearing the African Union will not make independent
progress. End Summary.

FIGHT AGAINST TERROR


2. (C) Adriaan Palm (MFA, Office of Political Affairs) and
Jochem Wiers, (MFA, European Integration Office) briefed
Poloff and reps from Australia and Japan July 14 on the
upcoming GAERC. In light of the London bombings on July 7,
Palm said that the upcoming GAERC would place a larger focus
on the fight against terrorism than had been initially
planned. They would discuss deeper cooperation with those
countries the EU already works closely with, including
Morocco, Nigeria and Indonesia.

SYRIA/LEBANON: A FRAGILE SITUATION


3. (C) Palm said UN Special Representative of the SYG Larson
will brief the GAERC on recent developments. Palm stressed
that Lebanon is in a very fragile situation since the recent
elections, and that the EU believes it is very important to
support Lebanon,s transition process as much as possible.
Palm underscored that Syria remains a concern. Although
Syria has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, "it has not
necessarily withdrawn all of its influence," he said. Palm
cautioned that the presence of the Palestine Hezbollah in
Syria makes it important for EU to keep pressure on Syria,
e.g., maintaining tight control along the Syrian/Iraqi
border. He implied that Syria should be pressed to cooperate
more with the international community in this regard.

IRAN: SKEPTICISM OVER NEW GOVERNMENT


4. (C) Palm questioned whether the new presidency in Iran
would affect the nuclear standoff, stating that the previous
president was not very influential, with the Ayatollah
Khomeini pulling the strings. Noting that the Iranians may
send a new negotiator to the Vienna talks, Palm confided that
he believes the Iranians would do so to push the EU into
giving a better deal. Palm said that the EU3 will present a
new proposal sometime in July-August to Iran, adding that the
GoNL would wait and see how the Iranians react to the
proposal. "We,ll have to judge Iran by deeds, not by
words," he said.

EU ENLARGEMENT


5. (C) a) Turkey: Palm said that the EU council members
must agree on the negotiations framework by October 3, the
date of the next official GAERC. Palm said on July 18-19
there will be a generalized discussion of the framework but
no decision will be taken. Indeed, Palm said, "we want to
have a proper discussion of this with our own parliament,"
which is currently in recess until August 29. Wiers (a
veteran of the December 17 Council meeting that decided to
invite Turkey to negotiate EU membership) said that on first
impression the Commission document appears to be "a good and
balanced mandate," as it closely follows the December 17
conclusions. Palm said the mood in parliament was split over
Turkey, and that the issue of Cyprus raises a "big chunk of
questions." In general, Palm said there are two conditions
parliament will consider for Turkish accession: (1) the entry
into force of new Turkish legislation; and (2) signing the
protocol to the Ankara agreement. In this regard, the Dutch
note with concern that the Turkish side still seems to demand
attaching a unilateral declaration against recognizing
Cyprus, in which case the EU would be forced to issue a
counter declaration.

b) Croatia: Austria is isolated supporting the opening of
Croatia negotiations now. The Dutch expect the GAERC not to
discuss Croatia pending the next ICTY report.
WTO


6. (C) Palm said that France has added WTO to the agenda, to
discuss the situation with China.

MIDDLE EAST


7. (C) Palm observed that preparations for the Gaza
withdrawal are proving difficult, especially maintaining
order and economic and political stability. Stability would
depend on the reopening of the Palestine airport and the
reconstruction of the harbor. Palm lamented, "It,s all
difficult and hard to make progress," as there is also still
the problem of the withdrawal of Israeli settlers. Palm
stressed the importance of intensifying collaboration between
the Palestinians and Israelis, the implementation of the
roadmap, and ensuring the economic survival of the Gaza
strip. Palm emphasized, "We should signal that the
construction of the wall in Jerusalem does not help,"
implying the need to encourage Israel to reconsider its
position on the wall.

UN HIGH LEVEL EVENT


8. (C) Palm stated that the GoNL wants the final HLE document
to "maintain its ambition and balance," with strong text
regarding African development, the Human Rights Commission,
streamlining the UN system, and the fight against terror. The
Australian representative inquired if the Security Council
issue could be looked at separately from these issues. Palm
stated that the Security Council issue "has been
quarantined." He also made clear that there was no unified
EU position on the Security Council issue, while on most
other issues there was an EU consensus.

EU-CHINA SUMMIT


9. (C) Palm said the upcoming September 5 summit in Beijing
will discuss economic and political issues. He asserted the
EU will not lift the arms embargo under the UK presidency.
(He noted that three issues occupy the EU in this matter: the
tool box, the code of conduct, and the opinion of the USG and
Japan.) He speculated on how the "market economy status"
discussion will proceed, as the UK wants to "go the extra
mile" while the rest of the EU expressed concerns over
China,s fulfillment of the criteria. Palm said that the
declaration on environment and climate change (especially
emissions reductions) is clearly deliverable, as it is "in
everyone,s interest."

UZBEKISTAN


10. (C) Palm acknowledged that the June 30 deadline for Uzbek
cooperation in an international investigation of the Andijon
incident has passed. He listed three steps for the EU to take
in response: reduce ministerial contacts and cease bilateral
contacts, refrain from deepening cooperation agreements with
Uzbekistan, and attempt to implement the OSCE Moscow
Mechanism (which requires OSCE support). He speculated that
am arms embargo could come but emphasized that the EU would
favor "a gradual buildup of carrots and sticks." Palm
stressed the importance of making sure the refugees in
Kyrgyzstan are treated in accordance to international human
rights principles.

ZIMBABWE


11. (C) Palm decried the fact that the "Operation to restore
order and get rid of trash" resulted in 300,000 people losing
their homes. He called it a "new step in the direction of a
complete denial of human rights." He regretted that new
sanctions could have been taken but that there probably was
not much support for it at the time and was clearly
disappointed that some in the EU wanted to wait for the
report from the UN special representative. Palm feared the
African Union would be unable to take the lead effectively.

COMMENT


12. (C) Palm seemed uncommitted to Turkey accession,
distancing his tone and body language from his talking
points, whereas Wiers seemed more optimistic. When the
Japanese representative returned to the China arms embargo,
Palm said that the Dutch feel there is no reason to lift it
now and that it is not likely to happen under the UK
presidency.
BLAKEMAN