DAS GRAY MEETING WITH EUROPEAN COMMISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 001676 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG (MHARRIS) PARIS, LONDON FOR NEA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/04/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KMPI KPAO KDEM TS SUBJECT: DAS GRAY MEETING WITH EUROPEAN COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVES REF: A. TUNIS 1565 ¶B. TUNIS 1390 ¶C. TUNIS 1308 ¶D. 05 TUNIS 2619 Classified By: Ambassador William Hudson, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C//NF) SUMMARY. During his June 27-28 visit, NEA Deputy Assistant Secretary Gordon Gray met with representatives of the European Commission (EC) to discuss collaboration on human rights and democracy reform in Tunisia. EC reps noted difficulty in formal collaboration due to the heavy bureaucracy of EU bodies and procedures, reluctance from certain member states with close ties to Tunisia to raise human rights with the GOT and an aversion from some EU quarters to associate themselves with USG positions. However, the EC reps were emphatic that EU-USG collaboration on democracy and human rights was critical to advance a reform agenda in Tunisia, and that such collaboration had a "multiplier effect" on US and EU individual efforts. Meeting participants agreed that in lieu of frequent formal collaboration, informal means should be utilized to collectively confront the GOT on its lack of reform progress. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) PARTICIPANTS: U.S.: -------------- Gordon Gray, NEA Deputy Assistant Secretary Ambassador William Hudson, Embassy Tunis David Ballard, DCM, Embassy Tunis Dr. Pat Kabra, PAO, Embassy Tunis Brennan Gilmore, Poloff, Embassy Tunis (notetaker) European Commission: -------------- Giacomo Durazzo, Chief of Operations Bernard Philippe, Political and Economic Section Chief (NOTE: Ambassador Marc Pierini, scheduled to attend, was called suddenly out of town on Libya-related business) ¶3. (C//NF) Philippe opened by outlining some of the difficulties the EC has faced when trying to coordinate multi-lateral efforts to promote reform in Tunisia, such as differing views on the human rights situation in Tunisia between the EU Parliament, which has released three critical resolutions since October 2005 on Tunisian's human rights record, the European Commission, member states and the rotating Presidency. Philippe also described a reluctance from some EU members to officially join with the U.S. on joint demarches or public statements. Nevertheless, Philippe said that there were many advantages to joint coordinated action between the EU and USG -- that such collaborative efforts had a "multiplier effect" and could not be ignored by the GOT. Philippe cited the presence of both EU and USG diplomats at the May Congress of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) as an example of such useful cooperation (Ref C). Durazzo also pointed out recent donor coordination meetings between the EC, EU member states, and the USG which created a formal space to discuss programmatic efforts by donors on a variety of topics, including human rights and democracy (Ref B). ¶4. (C//NF) Philippe continued that the EU Parliament could push EU Commissioners and the EU Council on Tunisian reform issues. He mentioned that the EU-Tunisia sub-committee working group on human rights, one of ten issue-based coordinating bodies created under the EU-Tunisia Association Agreement, had still not met due to the GOT's refusal to accept the Terms of Reference (TOR) which allowed the proposed committee to discuss individual cases. According to Philippe, although Tunisian Foreign Minister Abdelwaheb Abdallah agreed in principle to the committee, the GOT continues to refuse the TOR. Citing previous experience in Egypt working on individual human rights cases, Gray said that when addressing such cases with the GOE bilaterally, the USG ran the risk of having an issue be seen as "just a concern of the Americans." On the contrary, approaches with the EU proved much more effective and such a joint approach could be effective in Tunisia as well. ¶5. (C//NF) Philippe suggested sharing information on specific cases would be useful, as the EC, although financially well resourced, did not have sufficient human capital to thoroughly track human rights issues in Tunisia. DCM, recognizing the impediments to formal collaboration such as joint demarches or public statements suggested that demarches and statements could be still be informally coordinated. If the EU was planning on releasing a statement or addressing an issue with the GOT, they could inform the Embassy and the USG could also raise the issue, even using similar language. ¶6. (C//NF) Durazzo said that identifying key GOT personalities who sympathized with EU goals on certain issues had aided their efforts in other sectors, notably in economic areas. However, he added that no such interlocutor had been found in the area of human rights. The Ambassador, noting that economic mismanagement, including lack of transparency and a non-independent judiciary, could negatively affect foreign investment in Tunisia, said that economic reform could be one avenue of approach to address broader political reform. He added, "coordinated messages get the most attention." ¶7. (C//NF) Comment: While we will continue to coordinate in Tunis with the forward leaning EC delegation, the bureaucratic and political obstacles to more formal USG-EU cooperation will require further high-level effort between Washington and Brussels. Philippe and Durazzo looked to the upcoming proposed EU-USG DVC on Tunisia reform issues as a worthwhile and timely initiative in this regard. End Comment. ¶8. (U) DAS Gordon Gray has cleared this cable. HUDSON