Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08LONDON1623
2008-06-13 13:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy London
Cable title:  

UK ON CUBA, IRAN AND OTHER ISSUES AT THE JUNE GAERC

Tags:  PREL PHUM PGOV ETRD EAID ZL ZK IR IZ IS CU 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 001623 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV ETRD EAID ZL ZK IR IZ IS CU
SU, CD, CT, UK
SUBJECT: UK ON CUBA, IRAN AND OTHER ISSUES AT THE JUNE GAERC

REF: STATE 62450

Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills for reasons 1.4 (B) an
d (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 001623

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2018
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV ETRD EAID ZL ZK IR IZ IS CU
SU, CD, CT, UK
SUBJECT: UK ON CUBA, IRAN AND OTHER ISSUES AT THE JUNE GAERC

REF: STATE 62450

Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills for reasons 1.4 (B) an
d (D).


1. (SBU) Foreign Office officials provided to Poloffs on June
12 the responses below to ref points on key GAERC agenda
items, as well as a general readout of UK expectations for
the June GAERC meeting.

Cuba
--------------

2. (C) The UK supports lifting the EU's Restrictive Measures
on Cuba at the June 16 GAERC and initiating a human rights
dialogue with Cuba, because other EU Members have agreed to
review the dialogue's progress within a year, Paul Williams,
the Foreign Office's new EU Corespondent, told Polcouns on
June 12. Dean and Williams both agreed with ref points that
the goal of an EU-dialogue with Cuba had to be release of
political prisoners, free access to information and freedom
for the EU to pursue "Track Two" engagement with civil
society, but that other EU Members believed listing these
specific benchmarks in the GAERC conclusions was counter
productive. The UK, Williams said, might have agreed to list
specific benchmarks in the GAERC conclusions, but there was
"not enough support" for this among other EU members.
Williams and Dean confirmed that the EU's two-track policy
remains in place.


3. (C) In a separate conversation the same day, Matthew
Forbes, the Foreign Office's Caribbean Office Chief, told
Poloff the UK had scored "quite a victory" by achieving
agreement in the EU that to continue the dialogue after one
year would require an affirmative consensus of all EU
Members, rather than the dialogue with Havana continuing
unless a consensus of all states acted to end it. According
to Forbes this affirmative approach gives each individual EU
Member state much more leverage with the Cubans; the UK could

act alone to stop the dialogue in a year, if the Cubans
interfere with the UK outreach to Cuban dissidents or refuse
to engage with London. Under current EU policy, as Forbes
explained it, EU Members like the UK who reach out to the
opposition are isolated, leaving the discussions with the
regime on human rights to EU Members such as Spain. Forbes
told Poloff that the agreement on mechanics of the one-year
renewal would not be spelled out in the GAERC conclusions,
but be the subject of a confidential side agreement among
Members. Havana would learn about the mechanics in any case,
as the Spanish leak information to them on all developments
inside the COLAT, Forbes added. Forbes echoed his EU
colleagues and said that the EU's twin-track policy is still
in effect. Forbes said that the GAERC conclusions, although
not containing benchmarks for a dialogue, would make
reference to human rights, which would itself irritate Cuba
and might delay the start of the dialogue.

Iran
--------------

4. (C) EU Correspondent Williams said the UK wanted action
taken at the June GAERC on designation of Bank Melli and
other individuals associated with Iran's nuclear programs and
was pressing hard "to do it now," but German objections made
it "increasingly uncertain" that the designations would be
taken at next week's GAERC. According to Williams, the
Germans want to wait "several weeks" after EU Commission
Solana presents the P5 1 enhanced incentives package to
Tehran, before moving forward with the designations.
Williams said Foreign Political Director Mark Lyall Grant was
pressing his German counterpart to let the designations move
forward for June 16; as a fall back the determinations might
be authorized at a June 23 EU meeting, Williams said, but he
was not certain that the Germans would agree to this. He
described the timing of the designations as still an open
question which may not be resolved until the June 14-15
weekend. (Embassy note. FCO's Coordination Office
separately followed up with Embassy on June 13, telling
Poloff that the Melli designation will not be on the June 16
GAERC agenda, but is now firmly on the agenda for the June 23
Agriculture and Fisheries session. End note).


5. (C) Williams said that there would be no action on

LONDON 00001623 002 OF 002


adopting UNSCR 1803 "goldplating" into EU policy at the June
GAERC. Most EU Members wanted to wait further to see how
Tehran would react to the new P5 1 proposals and wanted to
hear from Solana, who will brief the GAERC immediately upon
his return from Tehran.

Kosovo
--------------

6. (C) The UK does not expect any language on Kosovo in the
GAERC conclusions or much general discussion, but will use
the GAERC to lobby EU Members that have not yet recognized
Kosovo independence. Williams said that FS Miliband plans to
target his Portuguese and Maltese counterparts on the GAERC
margins.

Western Balkans
--------------

7. (C) The UK is pleased that the Stabilization and
Association Agreement with Bosnia will be signed. The UK
will make a statement urging rapid implementation in order to
make clear the EU's commitment to Bosnia's future in Europe.
Williams said that Greece was pressing for a GAERC conclusion
on Macedonia's accession that would address the name issue;
the UK is opposed to raising the name dispute in this
context, joined by the Slovenian Presidency and "most" other
Members, according to Williams. Williams said the issue may
not be resolved until early on June 16 as Greece is refusing
to drop the matter. Williams said that there would be no
other statements and little discussion on the Western
Balkans, other than perhaps a statement of welcome for the
recent handing over a wanted war criminal to the ICTY.

African Issues
--------------

8. (C) Sudan, the Great Lakes region, and Somalia will be
discussed at the GAERC, Williams told Polcouns, but there
will not be any formal conclusions. Zimbabwe is the most
important African issue for the UK at the June GAERC.
Williams said the UK is nearing agreement on a "strong text"
that will express the EU's deep concern over the situation in
Zimbabwe and recognize that the violence and intimidation
thus far are cause for fears about how the election will be
carried out. The UK wants the GAERC conclusions and
discussion to set the stage for the June 18-19 European
Council meeting shortly after at which the UK will press for
discussion of post-election EU actions should the poll be as
unfair as now appears.

Ground Work for European Council Meeting
--------------

9. (C) Williams and Dean agreed that for the UK the most
important aspect of this June GAERC is laying the groundwork
for the subsequent European Council a few days later. Prime
Minister Brown wants to focus the Council meeting on several
of his economic and development priorities: coordinated
actions in response to rising oil and food prices,
encouraging progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and
reforming international institutions like the Bretton Woods
institutions. Brown, according to Williams, also wants to
press the EU to move forward on Doha round negotiations. The
UK goal for the GAERC is to lay the ground work for
high-level action at the European Council meeting.

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