DUTCH ON OECD ENLARGEMENT AND FINANCING REFORM

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000923 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS PARIS ALSO FOR USOECD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON OECD EUN NL SUBJECT: DUTCH ON OECD ENLARGEMENT AND FINANCING REFORM REF: STATE 62464 THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. ¶1. (U) Econ Chief forwarded reftel points on May 10 to Peter Post, Head of the OECD Unit, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Post was not available to meet and discuss the points until May 14. Econ Chief also shared the points with Jerome Larosch, OECD Coordinator in the Trade Policy Unit, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. ¶2. (SBU) Post said Trade Minister Frank Heemskerk planned to represent the Dutch at the May 15-16 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. He noted the GONL welcomed the USG position on Russia and agreed with the approach outlined in the current draft Council report, which invites the Secretary-General to set out terms, conditions, and a process SIPDIS for Russian accession. Post agreed that Russia did not currently meet OECD standards of open market reform and a commitment to democratic government, but said the GONL saw the accession process as the best means for encouraging such reforms. ¶3. (SBU) The GONL understood USG concerns that EU membership should not imply entitlement to OECD membership, Post noted. While the GONL supported eventual membership for all EU member states, he said the GONL would be willing to consider a "sequencing" of non-OECD EU member states. However, he cautioned that some countries (i.e., Russia) should not be allowed to use their accession to block the later accession of others (i.e, Baltic states). ¶4. (SBU) On the issue of financing reform, Post said the GONL could support new arrangements that better reflected the need for OECD members to cover their recurring costs. However, he questioned whether such steps might entail dramatic increases for smaller countries such as Iceland and Luxembourg. ARNALL