GERMANY: MOVING FORWARD WITH EU OBSERVER MISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 001286

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2018
TAGS: MOPS OSCE PHUM PREL UN GG RS GM EUN
SUBJECT: GERMANY: MOVING FORWARD WITH EU OBSERVER MISSION
IN GEORGIA

REF: BERLIN 01261

Classified By: Deputy Political Minister-Counselor Stanley Otto for rea
sons: 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Germany plans to have 18 of the 40 observers
it has pledged for the EU observer mission on the ground in
Georgia early next week, with the additional 22 on standby
should the EU need them. Contacts at MFA and the German
Government Center for International Peace Operations (Zentrum
fuer Internationale Friedenseinsaetze -- ZIF) are confident
that the EU observer mission will be ready by October 1
despite the painful bureaucratic process involved in the
deployment. The newly appointed head of the EU observer
mission, German Ambassador Hansjoerg Haber, is flying to
Tbilisi September 19 to prepare for the mission. END SUMMARY

THE GERMAN CONTINGENT OF THE MISSION


2. (C) MFA EU Desk Officer Elizabeth Dietl informed POLOFF
that an EU meeting in Brussels late September 18 will
determine how many observers each EU member state should
send. Although Germany publicly has pledged 40 observers,
Dietl and ZIF Head of Recruitment Jens Behrendt indicated
that Germany may send significantly fewer than that, at least
initially, because of the desire by almost every EU member
state to participate in this mission (reftel). While France
will remain the largest contributor, it may send only around
50 rather than 70 or 80 suggested earlier, said Behrendt.
According to Dietl, if every participant in the mission where
to send the pledged contingent, the EU would far exceed 200
observers. Behrendt said that as of September 18, 10 German
police officers and eight civilians were scheduled for
deployment, with the remaining 10 police officers and 12
civilians on standby.


3. (C) Regardless of how many are deployed to Georgia next
week, Dietl said that all 40 of those selected would begin
two days of training in Bonn on September 19. The initial
group of 18 then will fly to Tbilisi on September 22 or 23,
and MFA will provide enough armored vehicles to ensure that
every German observer has a "safe way to move around,"
according to Dietl. Although the EU observer mission does
not officially begin until October 1, Dietl expected that
observers arriving earlier would start their duties in
Tbilisi, and Behrendt indicated that more pre-deployment
training will be offered. Behrendt expected the entire
German contingent to be unarmed and responsible for the area
on the coast and around Abkhazia. None are scheduled to
serve in the areas adjacent to South Ossetia.


4. (C) Behrendt said that the 20 German civilian observers
selected for this mission range in age from their early 30s
to mid-60s and have varied backgrounds. Several speak
Russian and some have a military background. ZIF informed
the 20 of their selection late September 17. The civilian
observers will sign individual contracts directly with the
head of the EU observer mission, rather than with the EU per
se. The initial contracts will be for six to twelve months
of service, although Behrendt expects most observers to
extend their contracts and stay longer. Germany already has
chartered an Ukrainian Antonov to transport the observers and
their equipment to Tbilisi as early as September 22,
according to Behrendt.


5. (C) Dietl said Ambassador Haber was selected by the EU
Political and Security Committee as the head of the EU
observer mission based on a recommendation from EU High Rep
Solana from a pool of three candidates. Haber is flying to
Tblisi in the afternoon September 19 to take up his duties,
according to Dietl.

PAINFUL LESSON FOR THE EU


6. (C) Behrendt shared that the entire process of readying
the EU mission has been a "painful birth," with much
confusion as to what was required and who was responsible for
specific tasks. Behrendt contrasted the EU process with that
of the UN: rather than having one responsible office as in
the UN, the EU has several institutions and bodies, sometimes
with overlapping responsibilities, making contradictory
simultaneous decisions. Although Behrendt expected the EU
mission to be fully deployed by October 1, he opined that the
difficulties reveal a structural problem in the EU with
regard to planning and implementing overseas observer
missions. He thought the EU observer mission eventually
would be opened to participation by non-EU states, as is the
case in other EU civilian overseas missions, like EULEX in
Kosovo.
KOENIG