STATE SECRETARY TIMMERMANS ON EU CONSITUTION,

S E C R E T THE HAGUE 000643 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2017 TAGS: PREL EUN NATO PINR AF BO RS UP NL SUBJECT: STATE SECRETARY TIMMERMANS ON EU CONSITUTION, ISAF, RUSSIA Classified By: Ambassador Roland Arnall; reasons 1.4 (b and d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met April 4 with Frans Timmermans, the new Dutch State Secretary for European Affairs. Timmermans expressed hopes that EU members could agree on a compromise EU treaty prior to the end of the German Presidency. He reiterated his personal commitment to a continued Dutch military role in Afghanistan, after the scheduled end to the Dutch deployment in Uruzgan in 2008. He was pleased with Foreign Minister Verhagen's meetings with Secretary Rice, and he expressed concern - and hope - on U.S. SIPDIS and EU relations with Russia. End summary. EU Constitution - hoping for a compromise before June Council -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) Timmermans was personally involved in the drafting of the European Constitution, but he says that the document cannot be sold to the Dutch public in its present form. He hopes to reach agreement within the EU on a way forward before the June European Council. For the Dutch, he said, this means a substantially scaled-back treaty focusing on improving the operating efficiency of the European Union. Any compromise will entail a degree of ambiguity on the future of European integration. He explained to Ambassador that he sees such a treaty as a stepping stone to further European integration, but the Dutch public is not ready to contemplate this, much less an EU super state. Rice-Verhagen meetings: relations off to a good start -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Timmermans said that Foreign Minister Verhagen's April 2 meeting with Secretary Rice went well. He believed Dutch-U.S. discussions on detainee policy and Guantanamo were going well and that the U.S. had begun to tackle the issue effectively. "When you are in a hole," he commented, "the first step is to stop digging it deeper. The U.S. seems to have (stopped digging)." Committed to the Afghanistan mission -------------- ¶4. (C) On Afghanistan, Timmermans said Dutch withdrawal in 2008 is not an option, but neither is a continuation of a deployment at current levels. The Dutch military, he said, is stretched. He expects the Cabinet will explore several options, including a deployment of Dutch special forces and possible roles for Dutch troops in Kabul and elsewhere in ;Afghsanistan. He specifically mentioned guarding Kabul airport. ¶5. (C) Timmermans thought the spring offensive against the Taliban was going well. If this could continue through the spring and summer, he said, it could reinforce European commitment to the mission. Ambassador pressed him to lobby the Germans and others to contribute additional troops, and Timmermans assured him the GONL is constantly doing this. ¶6. (C) Timmermans noted that Dutch poppy purchases would cost "an arm and a leg" and that, while the Dutch remain committed to poppy eradication, their Ministry of Agriculture is looking at alternative strategies. Ambassador noted that the U.S. has expertise on alternative crops and other strategies, as well. European Neighborhood Policy and dealing with Russia -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Timmermans expressed concern that European policy on Russia is "strong on rhetoric and soft on content." He was optimistic that Europe and the U.S. could ultimately define their relations with Belarus and Ukraine in a way that would be palatable to Russia. In the long-term, he thought, Russia's ability to leverage its gas and oil wealth was limited. ¶8. (S) Timmermans was concerned, though, about near-term relations with Russia. The Germans, he said, had painted themselves into a corner with their new energy policy, and the British were being treated shabbily in Moscow. Many Europeans, he thought, underestimate the prospects for instability in Russia, particularly in the provinces. He reserved particular criticism for former German Chancellor Schroeder, whom he had quarreled with several years ago. He thought Merkel had a more realistic view of Russia than either Schroeder or Foreign Minister Steinmeier. Prospective U.S. visit -------------- ¶9. (C) Timmermans hopes to visit Washington this summer, possibly as early as late June. He hopes to discuss the EU's European Neighborhood Policy, and Russia in particular, as well as the status of the European Constitution debate. Biographical information -------------- ¶10. (U) Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus Maria Timmermans was born in Maastricht in 1961. Acording to his official biography, at www.government.nl, he studied French literature at Nijmegen. He followed a post-graduate course in European Law and Politics and French Literature at the University of Nancy. He performed two years obligatory military service, in military intelligence, and then joined the Dutch Foreign Ministry. As a diplomat, he served in Moscow and The Hague and specialized in European affairs. In 1998, Timmermans was elected to Parliament, for the Labor Party (PvdA). He served as an MP until his appointment as State Secretary in February. He has vacayioned in the U.S. frequently. ARNALL