EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY: ESTONIA PUSHING FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 000272 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN EN SUBJECT: EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY: ESTONIA PUSHING FOR PROGRESS Classified By: CDA Jeff Goldstein for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Estonia continues to be a staunch advocate of the European Union's (EU) European Neighborhood Policy (ENP). While the EU has made some progress in strengthening the ENP, the Government of Estonia (GOE) feels far more should be done. In particular, Estonia has been somewhat disappointed with the level of political support given by the German Presidency. Within EU fora, Estonia continues to lobby vigorously with other like-minded EU member states that the upcoming June European Neighborhood Policy Report offer substantive, strong, and concrete recommendations. However, whether or not this is achieved, the GOE has made clear its commitment to press ahead with its own outreach and assistance efforts (unilaterally or with other countries) to promote democracy in Eastern Europe. End Summary. Brussels versus Moscow -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Since joining the EU in 2004, Estonia has consistently argued that Brussels must draw Eastern European countries outside the EU closer to itself to counter Moscow's influence and promote democracy and stability in the region. As a result, the GOE has staunchly supported the ENP, repeatedly calling for its strengthening. After persistent lobbying efforts by Estonia and other like-minded EU member states, the European Commission released a Communication in December 2006 outlining an increase in the ENP's budget and calling for the ENP to be strengthened. Lobbying for a Stronger ENP -------------- ¶3. (C) Consequently, the GOE had high hopes that the German Presidency would put its weight behind the Commission's Communication and make the ENP a high priority. Yet, in comparison to Climate Change and the European Constitution, the ENP has been a second-tier priority for Berlin. In response, the GOE has renewed its lobbying efforts within EU fora to keep the ENP on the German Presidency's radar. For instance, at the EU's April Gymnich meeting, MFA interlocutors told us that Estonia and the other Balts won stronger supporting language for the ENP in the final Gymnich statement. The GOE's objective is that the EU's upcoming ENP Report (scheduled for June) contains strong new guidelines with concrete recommendations to give the ENP more teeth and �0A;substance. ¶4. (C) Our MFA contacts explained that their goal is to prevent the ENP from being divided along artificial lines (e.g., north and south, Balkans and Central Asia, etc.) and, thereby, avoid the uneven attention given to various "regional neighborhoods" due to the rotating EU Presidency. MFA sources have informed us that Portugal, the next EU Presidency country (July-December 2007),has already indicated that North Africa will be the focus during its tenure. In addition, the MFA will continue to argue that the Report must allow the ENP to evaluate each country in a case-by-case fashion. As Toomas Lukk, MFA Director for Eastern Europe, explained, "North African countries will never join the EU, but Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova can one day; therefore, we need a flexible ENP to allow for these differences." Otherwise, the GOE is concerned that the ENP may not efficiently address the needs in the region. Areas for ENP Improvement -------------- ¶5. (C) For the Estonians, a strengthened ENP must build on the ENP's three core areas of outreach: trade and economy, mobility, and frozen conflicts. For Eastern European countries, ENP commitments to reform and integrate their economies along EU lines would provide an important interim phase before any official EU membership negotiations. Estonia believes that the ENP can fill the institutional space prior to opening EU membership negotiations to aspirant countries. As one MFA official put it, "The more they do in meeting their ENP commitments, the stronger our case will be in arguing for their (EU) membership." TALLINN 00000272 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Trade and economic reform and integration will require the ENP countries to make painful and, therefore, unpopular decisions. As a result, the Estonians believe that the EU must provide Eastern European ENP countries tangible and visible "carrots" to mollify their citizens. In particular, MFA officials highlighted mobility in the form of visa facilitation as the most effective carrot the EU can provide. However, due to the public backlash against immigration and enlargement fatigue in many EU member states - especially older ones - our MFA interlocutors were uncertain if the EU could collectively step up to the challenge. ¶7. (C) The last area for improvement concerns how the ENP should deal with frozen conflicts. MFA officials were not optimistic that the EU could move beyond the status quo on this issue. In meetings in Brussels, Lukk said that he and colleagues from like-minded EU member states had proposed sending EU peacekeepers to South Ossetia and other frozen conflict areas in place of Russian peacekeepers. However, with many EU member states "apathetic" to the idea of more EU engagement in frozen conflicts, this idea received little traction. Not Waiting for Brussels -------------- ¶8. (SBU) While the GOE continues to press and lobby within EU fora for a strengthened ENP, Estonia has its own plans to ramp up its own bilateral development assistance to ENP countries, especially Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The GOE is also actively seeking partners for trilateral cooperative projects in these countries. Even though it is a small country with limited resources, Estonia's success in joining the EU and transforming its economy has given it immense credibility with nearby countries that hope to emulate Estonia's example. (Note. Estonia's development assistance activities in the region will be reported in more detail in septel. End Note.) ¶9. (C) Comment. Estonia is working hard to punch above its weight in EU deliberations on the Neighborhood Policy. Its efforts are in stark contrast to its normal modus operandi of playing the "good European" by avoiding confrontation. In doing so, Estonia is showing just how important it considers the issue of promoting democracy in the region. GOLDSTEIN