U.S.-EU CONSULTATIONS ON WESTERN BALKANS ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L USEU BRUSSELS 000748

NOFORN
SIPDIS

EUR/ERA, EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2018
TAGS: PREL EAID EUN ZL
SUBJECT: U.S.-EU CONSULTATIONS ON WESTERN BALKANS ISSUES

REF: USEU BRUSSELS 714

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Larry Wohlers for reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: EUR/SCE Director Chris Hoh discussed
Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the EU's
enlargement process with EU and member state officials during
the May 7 U.S.-EU troika consultations on Western Balkans
(COWEB) and during separate meetings on the margins. On
Kosovo, EU interlocutors highlighted positive political
developments in the fledgling country, but noted that the
slower-than-expected pace of international recognitions of
independence was worrying. The EU discussed their late-April
signing of a Stabilization and Association agreement with
Serbia and its value to pro-European parties ahead of
elections. The U.S. and EU sides agreed that whatever the
electoral results, Belgrade's policy on Kosovo would not
change. Hoh pressed the EU on quickly signing an SAA with
Bosnia, and while EU interlocutors supported the objective
and said that the agreement would be signed in mid-June, they
argued that Bosnia should be focused less on the politics of
the timing of the signing and more on the reforms that will
soon be required. EU and member state officials emphasized
Macedonia's European perspective, but some interlocutors
privately told Hoh that the Greece-Macedonia name issue was
becoming increasingly difficult to handle within the EU.
Finally, European Commission officials promoted their efforts
to reaffirm the European future for all the countries in the
region. End Summary.

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


2. (C) Council Secretariat Deputy Director for the Western
Balkans Michael Giffoni opened the discussion on Kosovo by
describing internal political developments as positive,
noting that parliament has adopted the bulk of laws required
for settlement implementation, with the rest to be adopted by
15 June. He drew attention to Prime Minister Thaci's 100-day
report, noting that it provoked authentic political debate in
Kosovo. Giffoni articulated the EU's policy on recognition,
which is that each member state will recognize on its own
accord. While allowing that 19 out of the 27 EU members have
recognized, he argued that the international process of
recognition is a more worrying one, and emphasized that
increased recognition among the developing world countries
would have a positive impact on Kosovo's prospects at the UN
and international financial institutions. He underscored the
need to make progress with Kosovo's regional neighbors as
well, and noted recent encouraging statements from Montenegro
and Macedonia. (Note: Discussions on UNMIK reconfiguration
and EULEX Kosovo are reported reftel).


3. (C) On economic and assistance issues, Genoveva Ruiz
Calavera, Head of Unit for Kosovo Issues at the European
Commission (EC),said hat the EU has not yet announced the
date of te Kosovo donor's conference - anticipated to be
July 11 - for fear of affecting the May 11 Serbian election
outcomes. Noting that some technical details still need to
be discussed, she said that the EU will invite nations at the
level of Western Balkans Directors and hopes to include
representatives from countries who have not recognized Kosovo
in addition to officials from nations that have recognized.
She added that the World Bank will not co-sponsor the
conference but will provide technical support and the EU will
continue to work to ensure that the Bank does not stray from
its commitments. Ruiz Calavera said that working with the
Kosovo government has been difficult because the government
has not yet appointed the relevant ministers. Speaking
privately to Hoh on the margins of the meeting, she said that
the EU could not match the funds being provided to Kosovo
Serbs by Belgrade. She added that the Commission was having
difficulty spending the assistance targeted for the Serb
populations due to hardline intimidation of those who want to
cooperate.


4. (C) In response to a question about U.S. efforts on
increasing recognitions from French Director for Europe
Jacques Faure, EUR/SCE Director Hoh said that the U.S. has
focused recently on Latin American nations. He also noted
that Kosovo recognitions have been coming faster than in
almost all recent cases of new states and emphasized the
efforts the U.S. has made working with Islamic and African
nations, noting that there could be specific opportunities to
work with Africa at the African Union Summit later this
summer. Hoh encouraged the EU institutions and governments
to engage with other international partners and underscored
that lobbying for recognition is likely to be more successful
if it is seen as a European project. Alix Everhard,

Counselor for Balkans issues at the French Permanent
Representation to the EU, separately expressed concern to Hoh
about the pace of international recognitions, noting the need
to maintain momentum. She said that the French are focusing
especially on Africa and Latin America, specifically Ecuador
and Colombia. Everhard added that the stability of Kosovo
and deployment of the EULEX mission will be key priorities
under the upcoming French EU presidency.


5. (C) In a separate conversation, European Commission
Director for Western Balkans Pierre Mirel (please protect)
privately bemoaned the lack of leadership on Kosovo both
within the EU and within the government of Kosovo. Mirel
worried that the new administration in Kosovo was not working
hard enough on making reforms and argued that the GoK needs
to make a better effort to explain its new laws and
constitution to the municipalities. Mirel also drew Hoh's
attention to the upcoming election of a new patriarch for the
Orthodox Church in Kosovo, likely in late May. Noting that
the new leader would be sure to have an impact on political
developments, he explained that he had proposed bringing
together bishops from Serbia and Kosovo for a conference on
"What is the EU?" and was hoping to receive confirmation from
the bishops soon.

Serbia
--------------


6. (C) Slovenian Head of Southeast Europe Division Leon Marc
started the discussion on Serbia by highlighting the EU's
April 29 Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA)
signing. He noted that the internal discussion among EU
Ministers was long and demanding, but the move gave the
Serbian pro-EU forces the boost that they needed ahead of the
May 11 elections. Because implementation of the SAA is
subject to unanimous agreement by member states and Serbia's
compliance with its ICTY obligations, the credibility and
legitimacy of the accession process was preserved. Marc went
on to highlight the announcement of the EU's visa
liberalization roadmap with Serbia which further demonstrated
the "tangibility of the European perspective." He added that
France and Germany have recently increased scholarship
opportunities for Serbian students. Marc concluded by
warning that the U.S. and EU should not expect changes in the
way that Serbia deals with the Kosovo issue, but added that
whatever new government emerged after the elections should be
judged by its deeds, not its rhetoric, a sentiment that was
separately shared with Hoh by Everhard and UK Counselor for
CFSP, ESDP and Enlargement Issues, Angus Lapsley.


7. (C) Hoh underscored the U.S. commitment to working with
the EU to help Serbia on its path to Euro-Atlantic
integration and expressed appreciation for the EU's creative
approach to signing the SAA ahead of the elections. He
agreed with the EU's assertion that we must judge the new
Serbian government by its actions, and noted the importance
of holding a democratically-elected government to the same
standards as we would elsewhere. The U.S. and EU will need
to maintain a clear message to Serbia about what is expected
for full partnership.

Bosnia-Herzegovina
--------------


8. (C) Leading the conversation on BiH, Hoh highlighted a
number of positive recent political developments which could
signal a more pragmatic approach from the leadership,
including a compromise on electoral rules in Srebrenica and
agreements on moveable defense property and police reform.
Saying that the EU is "a powerful incentive for Bosnia," Hoh
noted the EU's April 29 announcement of readiness to sign the
SAA with Bosnia. He warned, however, that delaying the
signature until June feeds into BiH cynicism regarding the
political timing of the Serbian SAA, and that the
expectations created and not yet fulfilled by the EU are
damaging international credibility in Bosnia. The SAA
process can help make a significant difference in Bosnia in
terms of political structures, but maintaining the momentum
of reform will be a challenge, especially given the intensive
level of international engagement required to achieve the
current progress. We should expect Dodik and Silajdzic to
continue to pursue a narrow set of interests as well as
anticipate a surge in the rhetoric from all sides. Hoh went
on to discuss the need to assess progress on completion of
PIC objectives toward the closure of the OHR, and underscored
that the transition to the EUSR will require substantial
engagement.


9. (C) The EU agrees with the U.S. that it is important to
sign the SAA as soon as possible, and shares the same
concerns about the dangers of certain types of rhetoric in
BiH, said Marc. The next important phase in the process will
be for Bosnia to make progress on constitutional reform.
Marc expressed the EU's satisfaction with HiRep Lajcak's
progress in bringing the EU perspective to Bosnia, and he
noted that the European Commission will soon start a visa
liberalization dialogue with BiH. In a related vein, Pierre
Mirel separately requested Hoh's assessment of the activities
of fundamentalist groups in Bosnia. He explained that now
former Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security
Frattini refused to open visa dialogues with BiH due to
problems with Islamic fundamentalist groups.


10. (C) In separate meetings after the formal COWEB session,
Hoh again strongly pressed his interlocutors on signing the
SAA with Bosnia as soon as possible, ideally at the late-May
GAERC meeting. EU Balkans Director Stefan Lehne said that
the delay in signing was "not an important issue," and
explained that the latest plan involved the EU signing the
agreement in June, and speeding up the implementation so that
BiH could "catch up with Serbia." Giffoni told Hoh that the
delay in signing was partly due to a delay in receiving
necessary paperwork from BiH, and said that the negative
local reaction to the delay demonstrated a "lack of maturity"
among the leaders. Everhard separately admitted that the EU
needed to do a better job of managing expectations, but noted
that scenarios which would have some member states signing
sooner than others would create a "dangerous precedent" in
the EU that would go beyond specific Western Balkans issues.
The issue needs to be approached with unanimity. She also
noted that the Bosnians' comparisons of themselves to Serbia
were somewhat spurious, given that despite being signed
later, Bosnia's SAA would actually be implemented while
Serbia's would not until conditions are met.


11. (C) Speaking from a European Commission perspective,
Helene Holm-Pedersen, a member of Enlargement Commissioner
Olli Rehn's Cabinet, told Hoh that Rehn was unhappy with the
delay in signing and she expressed frustration with the slow
pace of legal translation into all EU languages. She also
expressed her own disappointment that the Bosnians were
focused on Serbia's SAA instead of preparing for their own EU
integration process. She added that the EU has done as much
as they could in the timeframe available in terms of being
generous on conditionality and accelerating the technical
work. She noted that after the SAA is signed, the EU loses
its ability to be flexible and generous on the requirements
for membership, and the standards to which BiH will be held
will become increasingly challenging. After the SAA is
implemented, the EC will look at Bosnia's track record in
implementing the provisions in terms of evaluating the
country for eventual candidate status, specifically whether
they are developing institutions capable of implementing the
acquis and whether they are able to speak with one voice.
They will evaluate progress on public administration reform,
human rights and rule of law, as well as economic indicators.
Mirel expressed similar sentiments, arguing that while the
EU's not being able to sign the SAA in April as promised was
a "big mistake," Bosnia should focus less on Serbia and more
on the reforms that will soon be required.

Macedonia
--------------


12. (C) Hoh began the formal discussion of Macedonia by
underscoring that the good coordination between the U.S., EU,
NATO, and OSCE must continue during the post-Bucharest period
of "demoralization." Macedonia must be assured of its clear
European perspective. He noted that the U.S. wuld use FM
Milososki's May 7 visit to the Unied States to demonstrate
clear American suppot for Maecondia. We would also advocate
contnued flexibility and a near term solution to the name
issue. In advance of the June 1 elections, Hoh explained
that the U.S. was helping to fund a media campaign for free
and fair elections as well as an election monitoring mission.
After the June 1 elections, the U.S. and EU should work to
encourage Ohrid framework implementation and support
multi-ethnicity, whether in the government or opposition. On
border demarcation, Hoh warned that we should expect
challenges, and noted that technical experts have been sent
to brief both sides.


13. (C) Faure responded for the EU, explaining that the EC's
March 2008 Western Balkans communication reinforced the
European perspective for Macedonia and encouraged reforms.
Ruiz Calavera added that the EC has put forth eight key
benchmarks to assess Macedonia's capacity and capability to
undertake accession negotiations. She said that the
Commission had implicitly urged Macedonian leadership to
focus on reform rather than spending time on elections to no
avail. Faure emphasized that the EU supports the Nimetz
efforts to find a solution to the name issue.


14. (C/NF) Hoh's French and UK member state interlocutors
later explained separately to Hoh that the Macedonia name
issue had become problematic within the EU. The Greek
position has become increasingly hard line since the NATO
Bucharest summit, and Everard said that the issue has
permeated many technical discussions to the detriment of
progress. She added that the EU has "no real leverage on the
issue." British interlocutors told Hoh that the UK has so
far managed to push back against Greek attempts to officially
link resolution of the name issue to accession conditions for
Macedonia, but Lapsely cautioned that the "UK needs Greece on
other issues," specifically Kosovo, and without support from
other EU member states, the UK cannot keep up its opposition
indefinitely. Officials noted that the next major decision
point for the EU will come this Fall, when the EC issues its
recommendations on whether to begin accession negotiations
with Macedonia, a decision that Greece will certainly veto
without a solution to the name issue.

Other Regional Issues
--------------


15. (SBU) Stabilization and Association: Speaking generally
about the Stabilization and Accession processes for the
Western Balkans, Ruiz Calavera said that 2008 would be a
crucial year for the region; the European perspective needs
to be made more tangible to citizens. She explained the EC's
plan to reaffirm the European perspective for the countries
of the region, allow for the possibility of acceleration of
the process in some circumstances, and devise new initiatives
to make the process more accessible to the average citizen.
She noted that Croatia could be a catalyst for other
countries in the region by serving as an example that the
path can be accelerated by meaningful progress. Mirel
separately indicated that he was thinking about a more
expansive and forward-leaning approach to EU integration for
the whole SE Europe region.


16. (SBU) Albania: Faure explained that while Albania has
made some progress on the functioning of its government
institutions, he noted that much remains to be done in terms
of establishing "normal cooperative relations" between the
government and opposition. He added that simplifying
electoral rules would increase government stability. Faure
said that the Albanians are eager to benefit from the visa
facilitation agreement with the EU. The EU welcomed
Albania's closer links with NATO post-Bucharest, and would
continue to urge the nation to do more work on reforms. In
response, Hoh noted the GoA's good work against crime and
corruption. He added that Albania needs to make progress on
dealing with hazardous waste and munitions stockpiles as well
as to complete the electronic network linking their rule of
law agencies. On hazardous waste, Hoh provided a heads-up
that the USG thought the EU could assist Tirana and that USEU
would separately raise this issue in greater technical detail
with appropriate EU interlocutors.


17. (SBU) Montenegro: Faure cited corruption, trafficking
of various kinds, and reinforcement of administrative
capacity as areas still needing improvement in Montenegro.
He expressed concern about the growing presence of private
Russian business. Faure added that the EU appreciated the
GoM's moderate response on Kosovo. Hoh noted that the
positive political climate that has developed could speed up
the reform process. The U.S. believes that the GoM should
focus more on rule of law issues and building institutions.


18. (C) Faure explained to the U.S. side that the new GoM
was considering the possibility of asking for candidate
status, and while this was a good idea for the future, the EU
told the GoM that it was too soon. Mirel subsequently told
Hoh that Rehn told the Montenegrins to wait until the Treaty
of Lisbon ratification process had been completed by the
member states. He elaborated that Barroso and the incoming
French Presidency were concerned that an application by
Montenegro would trigger an application from Albania, and
member states that have not yet ratified the treaty would
perceive it as a negative tool enabling the EU to throw open
its doors. He added that if the EC recommends opening
negotiations with Macedonia later this year, there will be
pressure to do the same for Montenegro. Hoh cautioned Mirel
against packaging the two, as the Greece-Macedonia issue
could prevent Montenegro's progress.


19. (U) Regional Cooperation Council/South East European
Cooperation Process: Faure lauded the RCC transfer of
responsibility for regional cooperation to the countries of
the region. He noted that regional ownership and
accountability has been strengthened, and the role of the
international community has been appropriately reduced to
providing advice and assistance. These accomplishments are a
good start, but more needs to be done. Hoh agreed that the
establishment of the RCC was an important milestone; local
ownership is meaningful.


20. (U) EUR/SCE Director Hoh has cleared this message.

MURRAY

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