TURKMENISTAN: EUROPA HOUSE HELPING FULFILL EU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000638 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN; DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM EPET TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: EUROPA HOUSE HELPING FULFILL EU ASPIRATIONS REF: A. ASHGABAT 0328 ¶B. ASHGABAT 0472 ¶C. ASHGABAT 0482 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The coordinator for the EU's central clearinghouse for assistance and initiatives in Turkmenistan updated post on the work that Europa House is now doing to implement EU initiatives that will raise the prospects for a more robust EU-Turkmenistan partnership in the future. He described some of the projects that Europa House is supporting and commented on the arrival in late May of a high-level EU energy delegation. Turkmenistan's government appears to be more satisfied now with the relationship it has with this entity, in spite of initial dissatisfaction with its limited status as a non-diplomatic EU entity. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) Coordinator Emilio Valli told PolOff May 8 that Europa House is now fully staffed with eight employees, and is operating on an annual budget of 300,000 Euros. It rents its office space in the Mizan Hotel from the Ministry of Economics and Development. Europa House has settled into a comfortable relationship with the Turkmen government, despite earlier Turkmen dissatisfaction with the EU decision to give Europa House a less prestigious role here than anticipated (Ref A). Valli is able to meet twice a month with Deputy Foreign Minister Hajiyev, and occasionally the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself. Once projects are formally approved, he is able to communicate directly with counterparts in the Ministry of Finance, now the primary coordinating entity for all EU programs. As a result of that relationship, the Ministry of Finance itself will soon be the subject of an EU project that will improve the Ministry's aid coordination capacity. ¶4. (SBU) A significant part of Europa House's work is support for projects that address the EU's most significant concern in Turkmenistan, human rights. Europa House is currently providing support for an EU project with UNDP to develop an arbitration training program for judges and is participating in UNDP's project to build the government's capacity to promote and protect human rights. Two European legal experts also will be coming to Turkmenistan soon to lay the groundwork for a project to produce a tri-lingual legal dictionary (Russian, Turkmen, English). ¶5. (SBU) Valli said that EU officials are also hoping to initiate some programs under the auspices of its Central Asia Rule of Law Initiative. The initiative is a framework for developing new programs that promote progress in the rule of law. EU officials hope Turkmenistan's government will approve a proposal to hold a meeting of Central Asian justice ministers here before the end of the year. The ministerial would be the first step in developing a series of EU-sponsored programs aimed at addressing rule of law issues. ¶6. (SBU) Much of Europa House's work is channeling assistance and expertise to Turkmenistan with the goal of improving the human rights situation, a concern which some EU member states have used as a reason not to ratify the EU-Turkmenistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. When and if the European Parliament ratifies the agreement, it will provide a baseline agreement for standardizing a trade and, in particular, an energy relationship. ¶7. (SBU) Valli noted that EU Energy ommissioner Andris Piebalgs will be heading a delegation that will be in Turkmenistan May 25 and 26. The delegation hopes to focus its discussions with Turkmenistan's government on talks related to a bilateral memorandum of understanding whose signing was originally to take place during the April EU ASHGABAT 00000638 002 OF 002 Troika meeting (Refs B, C). (NOTE: We will report separately on the energy MOU. END NOTE.) It will also promote the interests of several European companies that could potentially be involved in building a Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline from the Turkmenistan shore to Azerbaijan. ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: Although Turkmenistan's authorities were unhappy that the EU would not grant Europa House a more high-profile diplomatic role, they appear to be working well with Valli and his staff to get EU-sponsored projects moving forward. Between EU project implementation and the hospitality that high-level EU delegation visits such as Piebalgs' receive, there is little question that Turkmenistan's government wants the EU as a partner. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND