FINNISH POLDIR ON EU'S NEXT STEPS IN THE MIDDLE

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SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV MOPS EUN FI IS
SUBJECT: FINNISH POLDIR ON EU'S NEXT STEPS IN THE MIDDLE
EAST IN THE WAKE OF A SUCCESSFUL EUROMED MINISTERIAL


Classified By: POLCHIEF GREGORY THOME FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: The Finnish EU Presidency has emerged
from the Nov. 27-28 EUROMED Ministerial with a decidedly
upbeat impression of both the substance and the
atmospherics surrounding the EU's discussions with
Israel, the Palestinians and other Middle Eastern
stakeholders. MFA Political Director Vierros-Villeneuve
told us that the ceasefire in the region and positive
statements from both Hamas officials and Israeli PM
Olmert on the eve of EUROMED helped the Finns keep
discussions from degenerating into shouting matches and
achieve a meaningful set of ministerial conclusions. She
characterized the "Spanish-French proposals" for the MEPP
"basically dead." Regarding a Palestinian national unity
government (NUG),the EU strongly supports its formation
and is looking heavily to President Abbas to determine
whether Hamas's compliance with the international
community's conditions is sufficient. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Emboffs met November 29 with Finnish MFA
Political Director Pilvi-Sisko Vierros-Villeneuve to get
a read-out on the European and Mediterranean Foreign
Ministers' Barcelona Process (EUROMED) meetings and on
the EU's discussions of the Middle East Peace Process
(MEPP) with Israel, the Palestinians and other regional
stakeholders.

Finns Upbeat on Atmospherics and Substance
--------------

3. (C) Vierros Villeneuve was clearly pleased with the
results of the EU's bilateral meetings with the Israelis
and the Palestinians, as well as the EUROMED Ministers'
plenary dinner which focused specifically on the MEPP.
Past EUROMED plenaries have tended to degenerate into
"shouting matches," and Vierros Villeneuve said this was
something the Israelis and the Finns both sought
strenuously to avoid. Israeli FM Tzipi Livni met
beforehand with Finnish FM Erkki Tuomioja to remind him
that this was her first EUROMED meeting and that the
conversation could not turn into an "attack" by the Arab
group on Israel. The Finnish Presidency worked hard with
both sides to stick to a productive agenda, Vierros-
Villeneuve said, and their effort was greatly assisted by
the surprise announcement of a ceasefire in the region as
well as by positive public statements from Israeli PM
Olmert and Hamas officials on the eve of EUROMED.
Vierros-Villeneuve also credited the Arab delegations'
seriousness and FM Livni who, she said, has developed
great credibility among European -- and even Arab --
leaders.


4. (C) These positive atmospherics produced substantive
results. In addition to re-confirming commitments to the
most recent ceasefire, all sides agreed to a set of
EUROMED ministerial conclusions -- something that has
only occurred once previously. None of the conclusions
was earth-shattering, Vierros-Villeneuve opined, but they
focused on a way forward, and the ministers negotiated
them seriously and even with a hint of optimism. As
expected, the Arab states consistently sought to water
down many of stronger conclusions that some European
ministers and Israel pressed for, but they were largely
forthcoming and expressed a willingness to compromise.

"Spanish-French" Proposals Fizzle
--------------

5. (C) With all sides re-committing themselves to the
Quartet Principles and the Road Map, the rather nebulous
new "Spanish-French" proposals for the MEPP gained little
traction during EUROMED. Vierros-Villeneuve said that
High Rep Javier Solana was unenthusiastic about them, and
that many member states remained preoccupied by the facts
that the proposals have been poorly vetted and appeared
to "offer no new ideas." Indeed, she added, it appeared
that there was less than full agreement between the
Spanish and the French regarding their own proposals, and
that no documents have actually been formally circulated
to the MS. Vierros-Villeneuve acknowledged that a new
set of Europe-generated proposals might be useful if it
served to re-emphasize the continuing need for close EU
participation in the MEPP and to reconfirm a commitment
to the Quartet Principles. However, she noted, the
"Spanish-French" proposal as it stands appears "basically
dead."

Palestinian National Unity Government
--------------

6. (C) Looking from EUROMED toward the future,

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Vierros-Villeneuve
reiterated that the formation of a Palestinian NUG remains a
key
priority for the EU. Europe, the US and Israel "need a
counterpart on the Palestinian side with whom we can engage."
The
EU remains fully committed to the three conditions the
international community has set for Hamas to participate in a
NUG.
However, alluding to what may be a possible divergence
between US
and EU views on this matter, she said that the EU will look
primarily to President Mahmoud Abbas to determine when and if
Hamas has fulfilled those conditions sufficiently. We should
be
willing to work with a NUG if one emerges that is acceptable
to
Abbas, Vierros-Villeneuve said, "because he knows the
international community's conditions and has even more
conditions
of his own."
WARE