FRENCH MOVING THE EU-CUBA DIALOGUE FORWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001540 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/ERA ELIZABETH KONICK, WHA/CCA, WHA/CUBAN TRANSITION, EMBASSY PARIS FOR JEROME HOHMAN, EMBASSY MADRID FOR STROTHER MURRAY E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2018 TAGS: PREL EUN EAID CU SUBJECT: FRENCH MOVING THE EU-CUBA DIALOGUE FORWARD Classified By: USEU Polmincouns Christopher Davis for reasons 1.5 (b) a nd (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: France is working to start an EU political dialogue with the Government of CUBA before the Czech Republic takes over the EU Presidency in January 2009. EU Council and Member State interlocutors in the course of separate conversations in late September assured us that human rights and democracy would be on the agenda for any discussions and that the EU would continue its outreach to civil society and the democratic opposition. Separately, Commission officials also assured us that the Commissioner for Development Louis Michel will visit CUBA in late October and take up a discussion of human rights in addition to development issues. No matter when the political dialogue begins officially, unless the Cuban human rights situation deteriorates markedly or the Czech Republic chooses to take a stand on the issue, we expect inertia to exert strong pressure for the EU Council to renew the dialogue next June. End Summary. ¶2. (C) In late June 2008, after overcoming the skepticism of Member States such as the Czech Republic and Sweden, the EU Council agreed to pursue a comprehensive political dialogue with the Government of CUBA and to lift a number of already suspended &restrictive measures8 imposed in 2003. In early September, the Government of CUBA accepted the EU,s offer to pursue dialogue. Between September 19 and 26, PolOff discussed the status of these talks with EU Council, European Commission, French, Czech, and Spanish officials. All interlocutors assured us that the EU would keep human rights and democracy in the discussion and continue EU outreach to civil society and the democratic opposition. Counselor for Latin America at the French Permanent Representation Valerie Liang-Champrenault also told PolOff in late September that the Cuban Ambassador in Brussels had agreed that human rights would be on the table. ¶3. (C) The Council Secretariat,s Nicolas Pascual de la Parte and French PermRep,s Liang-Champrenault said the French are pressing to get the talks underway during their Presidency. Pascual de la Parte (please protect) implied this was because the Czechs, who take over the Presidency in January, take a hard line on Cuba. Liang-Champrenault, however, attributed it to the fact that the Czech Republic is a small country with less capacity to manage the launch of talks. She said the Government of CUBA is making things difficult, however, by insisting on signing a framework for discussions before engaging in an official dialogue, something Liang-Champrenault said the EU does not do. She said France wants CUBA to back down from this idea and is advising Havana that CUBA would be better off talking to the EU with France in the Presidency than with the Czech Republic. Informal meetings will continue in Brussels to try to resolve the issue. ¶4. (C) CUBA can be a polarizing issue among Member States, Pascual de la Parte said, but Member States expressed a surprising unity in their discussions with PolOff. Spain, one of the Member States that has advocated greater outreach to Cuba, assured us that the dialogue will cover all areas. Katerina Beckova and Radka Patalova, Latin America watchers in the Czech mission, said Prague supports outreach and was not prejudging the dialogue. The Czech Republic will follow the issue closely, however, especially since the Council decision to open a dialogue will be up for renewal next June, at the end of the Czech Presidency. ¶5. (C) The European Commission is also continuing its outreach to the Government of Cuba, focusing formally on development, humanitarian, cultural, and economic issues. John Caloghirou, Head of the Caribbean Unit in the Commission,s DG Development, and Isabelle Martinho, desk officer for Cuba, said that when Commissioner Louis Michel visits CUBA in late October, he will focus on humanitarian and development issues, per his Commission mandate. However, they said, Michel is a former Belgian Foreign Minister and a BRUSSELS 00001540 002 OF 002 political animal, and he always raises human rights when he talks to the Government of Cuba. After Michel,s last visit to CUBA in March, his office said that human rights changes were in the pipeline and recommended an end to the EU,s restrictive measures. ¶6. (C) Comment: Whatever the French are able to accomplish this year, we expect inertia to make it difficult for EU leaders to renounce the dialogue next June unless the human rights situation in CUBA deteriorates markedly ) as in 2003, when the EU imposed its restrictive measures in the first place. Nevertheless, the Czech Republic could choose to take a stand on the issue next year. In this case, we would expect a debate within the Council, with Spain actively seeking to extend the dialogue while the Czech Presidency works to stall. End Comment. .