USEU SCENESETTER FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY LEW

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001183 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EAID EUN AF PK IK SUBJECT: USEU SCENESETTER FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY LEW BRUSSELS 00001183 001.3 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) You are visiting Brussels at an ideal time to discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan with the EU. Already a major contributor of development and humanitarian assistance, the EU is in the midst of writing a new Af/Pak strategy paper for release in October. Although European public opinion is skeptical of efforts in Afghanistan, the Swedish EU Presidency is committed to this project, which EU foreign ministers will discuss in the days before your arrival. The EU's commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan includes billions of dollars in aid, a police training program in Afghanistan, and increasing political and economic engagement with Pakistan. Your interlocutors should be keen to discuss the emerging EU strategy, as well as to look for areas for concrete U.S.-EU cooperation, such as in the field of police training, particularly as the EU-U.S. summit approaches. Europeans need to appreciate better what is at stake for them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Iraq, the EU has been more forthcoming in looking for ways to coordinate or partner with us since the change of administration, expanding and starting to do in-country judicial training, undertaking negotiations on a partnership agreement, and continuing to support refugee return; however, they are less enthusiastically involved than in Afghanistan/Pakistan. A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR IN AFGHANISTAN -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The European Commission (EC) is a large donor to Afghanistan and is one of the few that provides a multi-year commitment. This is on top of the support that individual EU member states provide to Afghanistan. The EC provided approximately 1.3 billion euros in assistance for the period 2002-2006, overshooting its pledged 1 billion euros. For 2007-2010, the EC pledged 610 million (e.g. approximately 150 million/year). This figure still holds in EU planning, although there will likely be additional funding from the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) and other areas of the Commission that could bring the total figure closer to 750 million euros. The Commission is committed to assistance to Afghanistan through at least 2013, and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told the press earlier this year that the current financial crisis will not deter the Commission's commitment to Afghanistan. The EC's funding target for the entire 2007-2013 period is at least 1.3 billion euros. The EC's assistance strategy reflects the priorities laid out in the Afghanistan Compact and the Afghan National Development Strategy. EC assistance for 2008-2010 focuses on three areas: reform of the justice sector; rural development, including alternatives to poppy production; and public health. About 10 percent of EC funding goes to non-focus areas, such as de-mining, regional cooperation, and support to vulnerable groups. We have coordinated with the EC to encourage regional economic cooperation, including working together to craft the agenda for a successful Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad last May. STRONG SUPPORT TO AFGHAN ELECTIONS -------------- 3.(SBU) Responding directly to VP Biden's request in March, the EC provided considerable support to the August 20 presidential and provincial elections. The EC pledged 35 million euros to the UN's fund for electoral support and launched a 120-person election observation mission headed by former French general Philippe Moriltion, Morillon commenteember s -------------- In 2007, EU member states launchQd an EU police training mission in AfghaniQtan (EUPOL). After some initial difficulties, the mission is gaining strength and new comman$er Kai Vittrup is winning praise in Kabul and russels. The EUPOL mission currently numbersabout 265 police trainers, with an eventual Qarget of 400. The mission was initially focus%d on civil policing tasks in Kabul, BRUSSELS 00001183 002 OF 003 but as the mission has grown, it has pushed more trainers out to the provinces. EUPOL officers are currently present in 14 PRTs, and EUPOL is seeking to increase its presence in the U.S.-administered Regional Command-East. To do this, the EU is asking for a technical agreement with the United States, which would have the U.S. provide housing, medical care, logistics, and - most importantly - in extremis life-protection support to EU civilian police at our PRTs. Your interlocutors may want to discuss the possibility of negotiating an agreement with the USG, as the EU has done with most other non-EU countries leading PRTs in Afghanistan. We have sought guidance from Washington on whether there could be such an agreement. INCREASING OUTREACH TO PAKISTAN -------------- 6.(SBU) The EU recognizes the need for additional focus on and support to Pakistan. The first EU-Pakistan summit took place in Brussels on June 17 and initiated a strategic dialogue on development, education, science and technology, security, counter-terrorism, democracy, human rights and trade. The joint summit statement said the EU and Pakistan would work towards further liberalization of trade, and that the EU would continue to help Pakistan meet the EU's sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirements for fishery and other products. The parties also agreed to undertake a counter-terrorism dialogue, notably in the field of law enforcement and criminal justice, and to consult regularly on arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation issues. 7.(SBU) The Commission has allocated 200 million euros to Pakistan in its program for the period 2007-2010, focused on poverty reduction, as well as education and human resources development, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan. At the April Tokyo donors' conference, the EC pledged 485 million euros between 2009 and 2013. EU member states and the EC together pledged around $1.8 billion of the $5 billion in total pledged at the conference. In the wake of the Pakistani military offensive in the Swat Valley, the EC also increased its humanitarian aid to Pakistan from 7 million euros to 72 million. While visiting Brussels in late July, SRAP Holbrooke urged EU leaders to consider a further increase in humanitarian aid, as well as support to the Pakistani electricity sector, ideas EU officials may want to discuss with you. The EU will probably be open to specific proposals for increased aid to Pakistan, given their growing engagement. KEEPING THE EU ENGAGED IN IRAQ -------------- 8.(SBU) In contrast to Afghanistan and Pakistan, overall EC donor support to Iraq has been decreasing since 2007, with the allocation for 2009-2010 reaching only 65.8 million euros. Although the EU has been more willing to listen to requests for Iraqi IDP and refugee support since President Obama took office, they remain skeptical about the reported numbers of displaced Iraqis in the region and claims about their needs. On returns-related initiatives, however, the Commission is more supportive, and is moving from single-year assistance programs to a multi-year strategy focused on creating a favorable environment for refugee and IDP returns. In the 2009-2010 program, 20 million euros will go to good governance and rule of law; technical assistance to the Independent High Commissioner for Human Rights; modernization of the legal education system; implementation of a new NGO law; and the creation of an NGO network. The other 43.8 million euros for 2009-2010 are allocated to the provision of basic health, education, and migration/displacement services. Additional support on migration and displacement issues includes a 20 million euro package of humanitarian aid from ECHO. 9.(SBU) While we still expect your interlocutors to be reluctant to provide major new contributions for refugees outside of Iraq, we want to encourage European donors to join us in providing critical assistance to ensure that returning Iraqis successfully reintegrate into former communities or settle in new communities. Early success will demonstrate to Iraqi refugees in the region that return and national reconciliation are possible. 10.(SBU) The EU Council is increasing its activities to reform the Iraqi judicial sector and may look for opportunities to partner with us. Since its launch in 2005, the EU's Integrated Rule of Law Mission for Iraq (EUJUST LEX) has provided training to senior Iraqi criminal justice officials. The mission has held over 100 training courses and trained over 2,700 Iraqi officials. Until this summer, all training activities had been held outside Iraq, but in July, the EU kicked off several in-country pilot programs, which could provide the basis for expanded activities in Iraq. As the EU considers further action inside Iraq, your interlocutors may be interested in discussing partnership opportunities. In addition to refugee and rule of law programs, the EU is Iraq's second largest trading partner and is in the process of negotiating a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which may be concluded by the end of 2009. BRUSSELS 00001183 003 OF 003 RESOURCES -------------- 11.(SBU) The U.S. Mission to the EU (USEU) is one of our largest policy and reporting missions abroad. USEU comprises eight agencies that convey USG positions and report on EU-wide developments as they affect U.S. interests, especially in economic, foreign policy, and justice related areas. USEU's 70 American and 35 European staff follow EU activities as they evolve in the two dozen Directorates-General of the EU Commission; in parallel structures of the EU Council, which comprises the 27 member state embassies in Brussels; and in the still modestly-empowered European Parliament. 12.(SBU) USEU's substantive priorities are led by Afghanistan, followed by energy security and climate change, dealing with Russia, Middle East peace, the Doha Trade Round, the Transatlantic Economic Council, and personal data protection. Justice and law enforcement activities, including counterterrorism, are moving up the agenda. Present levels of staffing and facilities are right for now, and for the foreseeable future. The complexity of EU institutions and procedures tends to inhibit U.S. officials' understanding of what the EU can and cannot accomplish. And, as such, the EU's complexity can operate either to our benefit or to our detriment. We benefit when the EU's consensus requirements forestall radical positions or decisions with which we disagree, but consensus as well as complex procedures can impede the EU from taking strong, positive action when called for. MURRAY