Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BRUSSELS1130
2007-04-03 13:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USEU Brussels
Cable title:  

U.S.- EU WESTERN BALKANS TROIKA CONSULTATIONS

Tags:  PREL EUN ZL UN ICTY 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3022
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHBS #1130/01 0931317
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 031317Z APR 07 ZDK
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001130 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017
TAGS: PREL EUN ZL UN ICTY
SUBJECT: U.S.- EU WESTERN BALKANS TROIKA CONSULTATIONS


Classified By: Political Officer Holly Schwendler for reasons 1.4 (b) &
(d)

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001130

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017
TAGS: PREL EUN ZL UN ICTY
SUBJECT: U.S.- EU WESTERN BALKANS TROIKA CONSULTATIONS


Classified By: Political Officer Holly Schwendler for reasons 1.4 (b) &
(d)

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) EU Council, Commission, and member state officials
told EUR/SCE Director Chris Hoh March 19-21 in Brussels that
the EU is working hard to maintain member state unity in
support of Ahtisaari's package and that an unambiguous UN
Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) was vital to ensure the
EU's ability to collectively engage with post-status Kosovo.
Commission officials voiced their anxiety over Kosovo's lack
of capacity for self-governance and lack of focus on
post-independence policy initiatives. Interlocutors
emphasized that the EU would resume Stabilization and
Association Agreement (SAA) talks with Serbia as soon as a
new government was in place that was committed to ICTY
cooperation, democratic reform, and a European future. The EU
shares U.S. concern about the political climate in Bosnia,
and noted that initialing of the SAA remains on hold until
progress is made on police reform, public broadcasting, and
public administration. The Commission is encouraging Albania
to find political consensus and deal with problems of
corruption and organized crime. European interlocutors also
noted Macedonia's failure to make progress on the EU's
political criteria for accession. The EU is optimistic about
Montenegro's future in Europe after the initialing of an SAA
agreement in early March, although Commission officials
observe that institutional capacity is still lacking.


2. (U) Hoh reviewed Western Balkans issues with the EU Troika
represented by German Balkans Director Emily Haber for the
Presidency, Council Director for Western Balkans Stefan
Lehne, and Commission official Dirk Lange who were joined by
Portuguese Special Coordinator for the Balkans Ambassador
Antonio Tanger in Brussels on March 20. He held private
meetings with Lange and Lehne as well as Genoveva Ruiz
Calavera and Therese Sobieski, who each head Commission units
covering Kosovo and Serbia and Montenegro, respectively. Hoh
also met with Helene Holm-Pedersen and Maria Asenius, members
of Commissioner for Enlargement Rehn's cabinet, as well as

other German Presidency officials. End Summary.

--------------
Kosovo: Preparing for Status
--------------


3. (C) Lehne stressed that the EU is working to ensure there
is no divergence among EU member states in providing full
support to the Ahtisaari package during the UN phase. Lehne
underscored that an unambiguous UN Security Council
Resolution (UNSCR) is necessary to provide the legal
framework for future EU engagement and support to Kosovo. The
worst case scenario for the EU, he argued, would be a
drawn-out process yielding a vague UNSCR that "brings a
resolution without a solution." Lehne and German Presidency
officials argued separately to Hoh that the UNSCR,
recognition, and implementation should take place before the
Portuguese assumed the EU Presidency this summer because
Portugal was not entirely prepared to handle the demands of
the task.


4. (C) Preparations for the International Civilian Office
(ICO) and the ESDP Rule of Law Mission continue, and member
states remain focused on the European perspective for Kosovo.
Privately, however, Calavera told Hoh that she was
pessimistic about Kosovo's capacity for self-governance and
said that the Unity Government was entirely unfocused on
governance issues and determining policy priorities, both of
which will be essential to inform the EU's donor conference
and subsequent project implementation. Compounding the
problem is the lack of solid economic expertise in Pristina.
Both Calavera and Holm-Pedersen argued that the U.S. and EU
will need to put pressure on the IMF and World Bank to
complete the Kosovo needs assessment which will be vital to
determining priorities.


5. (C) Hoh assured his interlocutors that the U.S. shared the
EU's desire for a clear UNSCR and was working hard toward
that end. He warned that implementation of the settlement
will be difficult and it is essential that the U.S. and EU
emphasize international commitment and engagement in Kosovo,
especially to the areas outside Pristina where vulnerable
populations will need reassurance. The U.S. and the EU must
continue to deliver a solid message of unity and support for
the Ahtisaari proposals and the process to those in the
region as well as in Moscow.

--------------
Serbia: The Door Remains (Conditionally) Open

BRUSSELS 00001130 002 OF 003


--------------


6. (C) Turning to Serbia, Hoh noted first the relatively
positive news that Serbian parliamentary elections were
conducted in a transparent and democratic fashion. However,
no government has been formed and Serbia has made no progress
toward realizing its European future. The U.S. welcomed
recent EU statements that the door remains open to Serbia
while striking a balance with maintaining war crimes
conditionality before SAA negotiations can be concluded. Hoh
argued that the U.S. and EU needed to work collectively on
efforts to encourage Belgrade along the right path,
particularly against the backdrop of the Kosovo status
settlement, while making sure to guard against the appearance
of Belgrade's "selling Kosovo."


7. (C) Haber expressed broad agreement with all of the U.S.
points and underscored the EU's desire to soon see a new
government in Belgrade focused on reform, war crimes
cooperation, and a European future. She emphasized that the
EU is ready to resume SAA negotiations when a committed
government is in place. Commission officials outlined the
specific conditions under which the Commission will re-engage
Serbia. First, the government needs to be clearly committed
to ICTY cooperation with transparent coordination among
agencies on the issue. The EU will look for solid
arrangements with the Prosecutor's office and will continue
to monitor progress throughout the negotiations. Finally,
full compliance -- the arrest of Mladic -- will be necessary
for member states to conclude negotiations. The Commission
aims to conclude visa facilitation negotiations (which are
proceeding on a separate track) with Belgrade soon.

--------------
BiH: No Signs of Reform
--------------


8. (C) Haber expressed the EU's concern over the lack of
reform in Bosnia and said that initialing of the SAA
agreement will remain on hold until progress is made in the
areas of police, public broadcasting, and public
administration. BiH will also have to demonstrate full ICTY
cooperation. (Lange noted that the EU will rely on ICTY
Prosecutor del Ponte's assessment of BiH compliance.)
Constitutional reform is not a precondition for SAA and, in
the EU's view, Bosnia should take ownership of this task
themselves. Haber went on to lament Silajdzic's unhelpful
attitude and the broader negative effects of the ICJ verdict
on the political climate in Sarajevo; Republika Srpska needed
to publicly acknowledge the verdict. She emphasized that the
international community should speak with one voice on all
these issues, while Lange worried that the February PIC
decision to extend OHR at the same time as EUFOR was
restructuring its presence sent mixed messages.


9. (SBU) Hoh underscored U.S. willingness to work with EU
partners on pushing reforms and agreed that the international
community needed to coordinate its messages. The U.S. and EU
should reinforce their positive agenda -- the development of
a functioning rule of law system -- rather than continuing to
deliver only negative messages. On constitutional reform, Hoh
said that Bosnian politicians should look at the first
package as the logical next step. The U.S. is waiting for a
signal that the new government wants to move forward, but has
not yet seen any indication.

--------------
Albania: Politics Hindering Progress
--------------


10. (C) Lange said that Commissioner Rehn delivered a strong
message to the government on his recent trip to Albania,
emphasizing that the parties needed to look for consensus in
finding a Presidential candidate so as to avoid new
elections. Smooth elections would enable the government to
turn to dealing with organized crime and corruption and
building the infrastructure necessary for economic
development. According to Asenius, Rehn is privately
optimistic about the elections and the potential for
improvement in the political climate. During the Troika
gathering, Tanger noted the need for international community
engagement and pressure on the Albanians to focus on reform.
Hoh emphasized that the recent elections were an advance over
past polls. Good U.S.-EU cooperation on the ground has helped
in delivering messages to Tirana.

-------------- -
Macedonia: Pessimism on EU Accession Prospects
-------------- -


11. (SBU) Tanger took a slightly more negative view of
developments in Macedonia than other EU interlocutors, saying

BRUSSELS 00001130 003 OF 003


that the political protagonists' lack of experience has
resulted in increased tension between the government and
opposition, and that the situation was deteriorating. Hoh
argued, however, that some initiative has been taken to
re-launch political dialogue in Macedonia, and the outlook
may improve. Referring to Rehn's public criticism of
Macedonia's failure to make progress on meeting the EU's
political criteria for accession, Hoh said that the U.S.
privately reinforced the same message to Skopje, noting that
NATO accession could also be in jeopardy if better efforts
were not made. Asenius confirmed that the Commission was
unlikely to set a date for EU accession this autumn as
initially hoped. Both sides agreed that the U.S. and EU
should cooperate in pushing back against the return to
Macedonia of four ICTY cases with which the judicial system
is not prepared to cope.

--------------
Montenegro: Following the Euro-Atlantic Path
--------------


12. (SBU) The outlook for Montenegro was positive, according
to Tanger, given recently-held free and fair elections and
initialing of the SAA agreement in early March. Pursuing the
European path was the most effective way to resolve
differences between pro-Serb and pro-Montenegro independence
communities. Tanger welcomed U.S. cooperation in calling for
a stronger rule of law regime and increases in institutional
capacity, as well as more transparency in fighting organized
crime and corruption. Hoh noted that the SAA was likely to
have positive spillover effects in the regon and expressed
U.S. interest in working together with the EU to increase
transparency. Sobieski said that while Montenegro has been
proactive in making the changes necessary to accede to the
acquis, institutional capacity is still lacking and the
government is finding it hard to determine priorities without
steering from the Commission.


13. (U) EUR/SCE Hoh has cleared this cable.

MCKINLEY
.