Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BRUSSELS1698
2007-05-22 15:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Brussels
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 30 MEETING

Tags:  PREL SENV BE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBS #1698/01 1421548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221548Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5440
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1570
UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001698 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FROM THE AMBASSADOR FOR SPEAKER PELOSI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SENV BE
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 30 MEETING
WITH BELGIAN PM VERHOFSTADT

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001698

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FROM THE AMBASSADOR FOR SPEAKER PELOSI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL SENV BE
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 30 MEETING
WITH BELGIAN PM VERHOFSTADT


1. (U) Summary: Your meeting with Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt
is more than a courtesy call with a close friend of the
United States. Prime Minister Verhofstadt, who will be
entering the home stretch of a tough reelection battle, wants
to learn more about your thinking on environmental issues and
to provide you with a working politician's view of how green
politics are playing in Europe. Your meeting also offers an
opportunity to talk about key transatlantic security issues
including relations with Russia and Afghanistan, where we are
pressing Belgium to send additional troops and to lift tight
restrictions limiting their exposure to combat operations.
If time permits, you can expect the Prime Minister to raise
African affairs with you -- Belgium wants us to do more in
Central Africa including, of course, the Democratic Republic
of Congo. End summary.

-------------- --------------
U.S. Ties with Belgium -- Good and getting Better
-------------- --------------


2. (U) Prime Minister Verhofstadt has played an instrumental
role in turning U.S.-Belgian relations around since the low
point of spring 2003. In addition to making good on a pledge
to end the law on "Universal Competence" (which opened the
door to politicized legal action against U.S. officials),his
administration provided critical logistical support to the
U.S. after Hurricane Katrina hit. In terms of foreign
policy, he has been a vocal critic of Iranian nuclear
ambitions, a strong supporter of the China arms embargo, and
a steady promoter of democratic aspirations in Eastern
Europe, the Caucuses, and Central Asia. He was one of the
first and remains today one of the loudest suporters of
Turkey's dream of entering the EU.


3. (U) Despite the opposition of his Socialit coalition
partners, Verhofstadt has maintaied Belgium's modest
military presence in Afghanistan, where Belgian troops
presently oversee security at Kabul airport and take part in
a German-led provincial reconstruction team. The U.S.
administration also has been pleased with his willingness to
grant limited and largely civilian assistance to Iraq while
muting public criticism of the U.S. We also have been
gratified by Belgium's active role in the current UN
peacekeeping operation in Lebanon.



--------------
A Tough Election Fight
--------------


4. (U) Your visit occurs at a worrying time for the Prime
Minister. With national elections set for June 10, he has
strong reason to fear losing his job in an election that
largely concerns parochial local issues. His Flemish Liberal
party is lagging in the polls and could, according to
projections, lose around one-third of his seats. The same
polls project a victory for a coalition including the
Christian Democrats, Belgium's traditional governing party.
The Christian Democrats have been out of power since
Verhofstadt's party defeated them in 1999. Local observers
are not counting Verhofstadt out, however; he is a skilled
campaigner who could easily ignite a sudden wave of support
in the 52 percent of the electorate who have yet to make up
their minds.

--------------
Verhofstadt's Green Politics
--------------


5. (SBU) The Prime Minister hopes his renewed commitment to
environmentalism will help him seal the deal with the voters.
Having included Belgium's two green parties in his first
coalition government in 1999 but dumped them in 2003,
Verhofstadt has some fences to mend but is seen as
sympathetic to environmental concerns. He has polished his
environmentalist credentials by meeting with Al Gore (in
Brussels this spring his film) and by proposing measures to
combat climate change. Although Belgium is committed to
reducing its CO2 emissions by 7.5 percent below 1990 levels
under the Kyoto Protocol, 2005 data project it falling far
short of that goal. Verhofstadt is proposing additional
measures (and emission credit purchases) to put Belgium
nearer its goal. By attracting green voters, the Prime
Minister will also keep them from backing the socialist party
) his chief rival though partner in the present coalition
government. Under Belgium's federal structure the regions
are responsible for environmental policy, so Verhofstadt's
role is limited to tax measures and energy regulations.


6. (SBU) Aside from climate change, the other key
environmental issue in this election is whether Belgium will
retain its policy to start decommissioning its nuclear power
plants in 2015. This commitment, made when the green parties
were in the 1999-2003 coalition government, does not square
with the reality that 56 percent of Belgium's electricity
comes from nuclear generation. No alternatives have been
agreed upon, and replacing it with fossil-fuel power plants
would massively increase the country's CO2 output. Liberal
and Christian Democrat parties are willing to extend use of
the existing facilities while "new generation" power plants
are developed; other parties won't commit. This is a hot
potato issue during the election period.

--------------
What We Want
--------------


6. (U) The primary U.S. goal in Belgium is maintaining the
country's commitment to fighting terrorism. We are achieving
excellent results in this area, in which we were helped by
the news that two Belgians were killed in Iraq while
attempting to launch a suicide bomb attack against American
forces. Second, we are seeking increased cooperation in
places like Afghanistan, where Belgian forces operate on a
tight leash held by the Defense Minister here in Brussels. A
greater willingness to take risks there will help the broader
international effort. Third, on the environmental front, we
want Belgium to spend more on innovation to help address
global warming. If the EU has stressed controlling emissions
and the U.S. has focused mostly on energy research over the
past decade, we are coming to meet in the middle. Belgium is
a good example of where new technologies will be essential to
achieving both economic growth and environmental protection.
Deeper EU commitment to clean energy technology could help
find the innovations needed by our countries and the
developing world. Fox
.