SCENESETTER FOR U.S.-EU TROIKA MEETING ON AFRICA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 003524 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR AF/FO THOMAS-GREENFIELD AND SWAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL AF EU EUN SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR U.S.-EU TROIKA MEETING ON AFRICA ¶1. (SBU) Summary: As you meet with EU officials for the biannual Africa troika Dec. 20, you will find the EU feeling very positive about its relations with Africa in the wake of its recent EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon. A shadow, however, is cast by the troubled EUFOR Mission to Chad/CAR, whose deployment has been delayed, perhaps indefinitely, by member states' failure to commit key resources. The Council Secretariat is in the midst of a leadership change with the SIPDIS recent appointment of its Africa Task Force head Koen Vervaeke to lead the new EU Delegation to the African Union (AU). On policy issues, the EU and U.S. are largely on the same page, with the exception of Ethiopia and Eritrea where the EU believes we are too supportive of Ethiopia and too hard on Eritrea. End Summary. EU-Africa Summit -------------- ¶2. (U) The EU, and the Portuguese Presidency in particular, are extremely pleased with the Dec. 8-9 EU-Africa Summit that brought together some 100 heads of state and ministers from Africa and Europe. The DRC's Kabila was one of the only prominent African leaders who didn't attend. Despite all the fuss about Mugabe's participation, the EU is happy with the way it handled and addressed his presence. Chancellor Merkel criticized Zimbabwe's economic management as well as its human rights and governance record on Dec. 8, the opening day of the Summit. Mugabe did not respond until the following morning, starting out reasonably enough but soon digressing into anti-Western rhetoric, according to those present. As determined by the EU prior to the Summit, High Representative Javier Solana responded on behalf of the EU, noting the paradox of Zimbabwe's economic ruin in the midst of a prosperous Southern African region. During the plenary session, when each country was allowed to speak on topics of its choosing, the Netherlands and Sweden mentioned Zimbabwe, but no other EU states did. ¶3. (U) One issue that was not resolved prior to the Summit, despite the best efforts of the EU, was the conclusion of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with each African state. Many African countries have refused to sign new agreements because they will lose preferential trade benefits as a result of a WTO ruling. The old agreements expire Dec. 31, and the EU will likely have to negotiate interim agreements with many countries until new agreements can be negotiated. ¶4. (U) The Summit approved a Joint EU-Africa Strategy and ambitious multi-year action plan for implementation. Scratching below the surface, however, the Joint Strategy differs little from the EU Africa Strategy (minus the "joint") adopted by the EU in 2005. The new strategy calls for the EU to negotiate with Africa as a whole, through the AU, instead of bilaterally with each country. In reality, many question the capacity and authority of the AU to negotiate for all its member states. Koen Vervaeke, current head of the Africa Task Force at the Council Secretariat, was recently named to head the EU's new office in Addis to conduct relations with the AU. Vervaeke, in one of the first manifestations of the new EU Reform Treaty, will carry out a hybrid Commission-Council role as both the EU Special Representative to the AU, reporting to Solana, and the Head of Delegation, reporting to Commissioner Louis Michel. EU Mission to Chad/CAR in doubt -------------- ¶5. (U) The EUFOR mission to Chad/CAR, which was set to deploy before Christmas, has been delayed because member states have not committed key resources, such as helicopters. France, which proposed and promoted the idea, is willing to put forth at least half the 3,000-4,000 troops, but does not want it to be solely a French mission. A few EU member states have committed small numbers of troops, but the two big powers - U.K. and Germany - have not, and that is proving to be an unresolved political obstacle at the moment. Sudan/Darfur -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The only formal meeting the EU held on the margins of the Summit was an EU troika meeting (Solana, Barroso, Socrates and Michel) with President Bashir. The EU pressed Bashir to accept UNAMID forces, implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA),and work with rebel groups to find a solution for Darfur, according to EU contacts. Bashir agreed to consider the EU's requests, but made no commitments. EU policy on Sudan is largelyin line with U.S. policy and includes timely eployment of UNAMID, negotiations between BRUSSELS 00003524 002 OF 002 rebel groups and the GOS, and full implementation of the CPA. In other meetings on the Summit margins, Solana met with Presidents Meles and Deby and AU Commissioner Konare. President Sarkozy met with Presidents Kagame and Gbagbo, and Commissioner Michel met "with everybody," according to Vervaeke. Horn of Africa -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On Somalia, the EU is encouraged by the appointment of a new Prime Minister and hopes this will be a political opening from which to move forward discussions about elections and a new constitution. The EU often questions our views of President Isaias, and continues to advocate engagement of Eritrea as the best path to stability in the Horn of Africa. On the Ethiopia/Eritrea border issue, the EU, through Portugal, was prepared to issue a statement at the very end of November urging the Boundary Commission to continue, but backed down after we pointed out that Ethiopia did not want the Commission to continue. There has been no further action on a statement by either the EU or the Witnesses. Zimbabwe -------------- ¶8. (U) The EU sent Jean-Christophe Belliard, political advisor in the Council Secretariat's Africa Task Force, to Addis and Southern Africa in late November as an ad hoc emissary on Zimbabwe. He did not go to Zimbabwe, deciding that would be counterproductive, but instead visited the AU in Addis, as well as SADC officials in Botswana and Pretoria to express the EU's willingness to support democratic elections in Zimbabwe. Belliard was sent at the insistence of the UK prior to the EU-Africa Summit, and it is unclear whether he will continue in that role now that the summit has concluded. Participation -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Portugal expressed many times how much they wanted this troika meeting to be chaired by A/S Frazer, but still planned to send their Africa Director to the meeting. The Council Secretariat will be represented by Andreas Fischer-Barnicol, who until recently handled the Great Lakes. He was slated to leave in November on a six-month TDY to Chad as a POLAD to the EUFOR Commander, but his deployment has been delayed along with EUFOR's deployment. The Commission will be represented by its delegation in Washington. MURRAY .