COUNCIL OF EUROPE: PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002610

SIPDIS

FROM AMCONSUL STRASBOURG

STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/WE
STATE ALSO FOR EUR/ERA - A. Carnie and L - A/S Bellinger

TAGS: PHUM PREL COE
SUBJECT: COUNCIL OF EUROPE: PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
STRUGGLES WITH EU COOPERATION, SPLITS ON HAMAS INVITATION

Ref: A) State 55459; B) Paris 02272


1. (SBU) Begin Summary: A somewhat subdued Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),meeting in
Strasbourg April 10-14, continued to wrestle with its
overlap with other EU institutions. The PACE dodged a
potential minefield when Palestinian Legislative Council
(PLC) representatives, including Hamas, failed to attend
the session, apparently unable to obtain visas. Financial
concerns with the expanding CoE dominated the agenda and
the new Human Rights Commissioner told delegates that he
could not carry out his mandate with the minimal resources
allotted. The European Court of Human Rights is taking the
largest portion of the COE budget but has yet to reduce its
backlog of 4000 cases. In contrast to previous sessions,
the delegates avoided negative comment on the U.S. with no
reference to the death penalty and detention camps. End
Summary.

COE to Avoid Duplication but Wants Lead in Human Rights



2. (SBU) The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly,
which met April 10-14 in Strasbourg, produced an informal
memo of understanding between the COE and EU, agreeing to
consult but adding little detail. The PACE called on both
organizations to avoid duplication of the work of the CoE
bodies in the relevant areas of EU action and for the
opening of a permanent office of the European Commission in
Strasbourg. Comment. The COE and the city of Strasbourg
are struggling to hold on to the COE seat although the
budgets have long since been under scrutiny. The lucrative
positions held by the COE secretariat staff will not easily
be reduced, in spite of the duplication of services and its
huge bureaucracy. End comment.


3. (SBU) Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
proposed that the European Union become a member of the
Council of Europe by 2010. Recommendations in his COE -
requested report, "Council of Europe-European Union: a
Sole Ambition for the European Continent" include: EU
member states should open the way for EU accession to the
European Convention on Human Rights; EU bodies should
recognize the COE as the "Europe-wide reference source" for
human rights; and member states should insure that the CoE
has the resources it requires. COE Secretary General Terry
Davis supported Juncker's proposals, notably that of
European Union membership in the Council of Europe. Davis
distinguished the CoE mandate to protect human rights from
that of the EU's obligation to respect those rights. He
called for supervisory mechanisms to ensure that EU
competence is exercised in full compliance with the
European Convention on Human Rights. Davis also supported
early accession of the European Union to the European
Convention on Human Rights. Comment: Davis often
complains of the "EU" club within the Council of Europe and
that outgoing chair, Romania, in its quest to join the EU,
often is more interested in appeasing the Club than in
asserting its chairmanship of the COE Council of Ministers.
End comment.


4. (U) The Romanian Prime Minister, Calin Popescu-
Tariceanu, said that joining the EU is his country's
primary objective and is inseparable from that of
strengthening the role of the Council. Romania has been a
member of the CoE for 13 years. Russia succeeds Romania as
chair on May 19, 2006.

Middle East Subcommittee Split on Inclusion of Hamas


5. (SBU) Anticipation of a possible Hamas appearance saw
many of the usually empty seats filled in the Assembly's
hemicycle. PACE Middle East Subcommittee rapporteur,
Mikhail Margelov, (Russian Federation, European Democratic
Group ((EDG)),made clear his disappointment with the
absence of the Palestinian Liberation Council delegation.
A COE Assembly Member since 2002, Margelov also expressed
displeasure with the European Parliament's position that
Hamas members would not be granted access to its Parliament
taking place in Strasbourg just prior to the PACE.
Parliamentary Secretary General Sorinas and External
Relations director Yann Kleisen told Strasbourg CG that the
PACE invited the PLC, not Hamas. Obviously uncomfortable
with the press given the issue, Sorinas said that the
Assembly insists that all groups invited be "pluralistic."
The same requirement is applied to the Knesset, Israel
being a formal observer at the CoE since 1956.


6. (SBU) The PACE passed a relatively tough resolution on
"The Situation in the Middle East" that noted the
"incompatibility" of involvement in armed or terrorist
activities with participation of the Palestinian parties in
the political process and that use of violence and
terrorism cannot be accepted as a measure to achieve
political goals. It also called for the international
community, and in particular the Quartet, to contribute to
conditions which would enable the resumption of contacts.
The PACE declined to include an amendment drafted by the
Israeli Observer that explicitly denied Hamas attendance at
the COE until it rejects terrorist activity. Prior to the
start of the assembly the House International Relations
Committee requested the PACE to rescind its invitation to
the PLC in a letter to PACE President Rene van der Linden.


7. (SBU) Some 29 speakers commented on the resolution.
The French representative (Socialist Group) said Hamas is
"over-demonized" and that one should consider that the
Palestinian Authority is at the edge of bankruptcy. A
French Liberal Group representative said the majority of
Palestinians do not subscribe to Hamas' ideology but voted
against Arafat's corrupt legacy. However, he said that the
PACE cannot enter into dialogue with terrorists and there
should be no invitation to Hamas until it condemns
violence. The Norway (European People's Party ((EPP))
representative called for Hamas to meet its international
requirements; Lithuania (EDG) noted that Hitler, (like
Hamas) also, was elected.


8. (SBU) Rapporteur Margello called attention to PACE
resolutions passed in 2001 and 2005 requiring participation
from two representatives of the Knessett and two from the
Legislative Council. He said the PACE should investigate
why the invitation to the PLC was blocked. Ignoring a
Hamas victory will not promote a peaceful settlement,
Margello said, noting that he was an observer of the
January 25 election. Israeli Ambassador Arie Avidor told
Strasbourg CG that Israel has few friends on the mid-East
committee and wondered aloud who was behind the failure of
Hamas to appear.

New Human Rights Commissioner and Court Under funded



9. (U) The incoming Human Rights Commissioner Thomas
Hammarberg, said that his "barefoot budget" and staff of
only 15, make it impossible to carry out his mandate. The
position, created in 1997, is charged with the effective
observance of human rights, identifying legislative
shortcomings and promotion of awareness. The final report
by outgoing commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles, who has held
the position since its creation, called attention to
inadequate budgetary support and poor communication between
relevant organizations such as the United Nations Human
Rights Commission. Gil-Robles also charged that the poor
staffing and lack of coordination with the European Court
of Human Rights further weakened the office.


10. (U) The PACE elected Mark Villiger as Judge to the
European Court of Human Rights in respect of Liechtenstein.
The Court recently hired 46 new lawyers but it faces a
four-year backlog in cases and is eating up 50 percent of
the CoE budget. A UK Representative urged that resources
dedicated to the EU Fundamental Rights Agency go instead to
the Court. The delegate claimed that the new EU agency has
a budget equal to one-third that of the entire Council of
Europe.

Trafficking in Women before the FIFA World Cup



11. (SBU) Some 30,000-60,000 women will be imported to
Germany to work in the sex industry during the World Cup,
according to the Rapporteur of the Committee on Equal
Opportunities for Women and Men, Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold
(Switzerland). A spirited group of representatives called
for measures to reduce exploitation, including filming the
clients and posting names on the internet. An Irish
delegate suggested that CoE member states offer protection
to women prostitutes who wanted to leave the profession.
Delegates charged that World Cup organizers have set up
temporary mobile brothels and expect an additional 60,000
women from Brazil and several countries in Eastern Europe.
The representatives claim that although prostitution is
legal in Germany, those women brought in for the World Cup
are usually sex slaves, abused and see little of the
profits.

Resurrection of Nazi Ideology Condemned along with Conduct
of Belarus Election



12. (U) PACE adopted a resolution on combating the
resurrection of Nazi ideology. In a sparsely attended
session, the Political Affairs committee rapporteur noted
the alarming number of cases involving revival of Nazi
elements, number of neo-Nazi groups in Spain, Austria,
Czech Republic and Germany increasing along with internet
neo-Nazi websites.


13. (U) The Assembly also condemned the undemocratic
conduct of the March 19 presidential election as a blatant
disregard by Belarusian authorities of Council of Europe
values and standards. It noted "with great disappointment"
that the Russian Federation recognized the legitimacy of
the elections and that it should be the priority of the
upcoming Russian chair of the COE to bring Belarus closer
to CoE standards and European democracies. The PACE took
notice of the call of the European Parliament and US
Congress for a repeat of the election but noted also the
need for radical change and a revision of the electoral
code to avoid the same biased results.


14. (U) Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia said the country is a successful model of
multi-ethnic and multicultural society. Viado Buchkovsi
noted Macedonia, a member of the CoE since November 1995,
faces a test in carrying out fair and democratic
parliamentary elections (to which the CoE will send
observers); and that it deserves to be considered a leader
in regional cooperation.


15. (SBU) Comment: The Council of Europe faces tough
going in the coming months as it continues to justify its
existence and wrestle with demands on its budget. Many
members and secretariat staff are less than enthusiastic
about Russian Federation's presidency of the CoE Committee
of Ministers. The fight amongst the CoE divisions for money
is getting more vocal. The discontent with the Court of
Human Rights burgeoning costs and large share of the
overall budget also is growing. The bureaucracy is such
that secretariat staff complain that different divisions
work on the same issue, unaware of the duplication.


16. (SBU) What is noteworthy about the PACE is its more
cooperative and collegial tone and the lack of negative
reference to the U.S. Very much absent was any reference
to alleged detention camps, renditions, Guantanamo or the
death penalty. Indeed the U.S. was mentioned only briefly
in comments on the failure of the Hamas representative to
participate in the sub-committee on the Middle East.
Secretary General Terry Davis continues to make overtures

SIPDIS
to U.S. representatives and seek participation from the
Congress. Although he does not miss an opportunity to
profit from media events that paint the U.S. in an
unfavorable light, such as his April 1 press conference on
alleged renditions, he regularly participates in the CG's
representational events ranging from dinner with the U.S.
and other COE observers to a Jazz History Month concert.
Davis, as do other senior secretariat staff, clearly desire
the visible presence and engagement of U.S. representatives
and see that participation as another means of validating
the work of the Council.


STAPLETON