EU COUNTER-TERRORISM COORDINATOR ON GAERC INFORMAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000120 SIPDIS STATE FOR S/WGI, EUR< INL, INL/PC, INL/AAE, EUR/ERA, L/LEI; JUSTICE FOR CRIMINAL DIVISION, OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER KAWK KISL EUN SUBJECT: EU COUNTER-TERRORISM COORDINATOR ON GAERC INFORMAL DISCUSSION OF GUANTANAMO REF: A. USEU-TODAY JAN 27 (NOTAL) ¶B. BRUSSELS 79 (NOTAL) ¶C. PRAGUE 0027 (NOTAL) ¶D. 08 LISBON 2769 (NOTAL) ¶E. 07 BRUSSELS 3543 (NOTAL) ¶F. 07 BRUSSELS 3532 (NOTAL) Classified By: MINISTER COUNSELOR FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS CHRIS DAVIS FOR REASONS IN SECTIONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) According to European Union (EU) Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, with whom Mission officers met January 27, the previous day's informal discussion on Guantanamo at the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) remained as yet inconclusive. De Kerchove said he will act on an "implicit" tasking from the GAERC to provide answers concerning the legal and financial implications of a potential EU position on accepting detainees. He planned to consult with European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner, particularly with respect to Commission resources to help Member States and third countries (he mentioned Yemen, for example) accept released detainees. He opined that it would be helpful if the U.S. contributed financially to such efforts and accepted some of the detainees. De Kerchove personally thinks an EU position is possible, citing the precedent of Palestinians accepted by six Member States in 2002 from the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. However, obstacles exist, such as the Schengen zone of free movement among most Member States, as well as potential liability questions. He noted that the Czech Presidency wants to proceed very cautiously. Overall, de Kerchove suggested that an EU-wide consensus would make it easier for individual Member States to act. END SUMMARY. -------------- "READ OUT" ON MINISTERS' INFORMAL DISCUSSION -------------- ¶2. (C) Mission Political and International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Counselors met with EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator de Kerchove and Council Secretariat Transatlantic Relations Officer Dr. Christiane Hoehn on January 27 regarding the previous day's discussions on Guantanamo by the Foreign Ministers at their GAERC meeting. De Kerchove cautioned that he had only received a very preliminary read-out and was working to obtain more details. He understood that many Foreign Ministers had expressed support for developing an EU consensus on accepting detainees from Guantanamo, citing France, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and Belgium particularly. The Ministers recognized that any decision to accept detainees, however, would have legal, financial, and security implications. The current Czech Presidency of the Council would like to proceed very cautiously, while facilitating the discussion. De Kerchove is taking on an "implicit" tasking from the GAERC to produce options for future discussions by Ministers. He said he would consult further with European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighborhood Policy Ferrero-Waldner, given that the Commission would be the likely source for any funding that might be made available to assist Member States or third countries that decide to accept detainees. -------------- VARIOUS FACTORS UNDER CONSIDERATION -------------- ¶3. (C) De Kerchove noted that Ministers had to consider the Schengen dimension, namely that the Schengen Convention permits free travel among most Member States. While some individual Member States might decide to accept detainees, broader implications were at play. De Kerchove added that Member States need also to consider the possibility of liability, i.e., detainees suing over their imprisonment at Guantanamo. Finance costs would also always be a consideration, including for the Baltic States and non-EU countries that might decide to accept detainees. De Kerchove said Member States would watch whether the United States accepted any of the detainees into its territory. Since the beginning of discussions of this issue, lack of stated U.S. willingness to accept one or more detainees has prompted a BRUSSELS 00000120 002 OF 003 "classical objection" within the EU. He ventured that U.S. financial assistance might sway the Baltic States to sign up for accepting detainees. Regarding the 50 or so detainees who were cleared for release to other countries, further details of their background would influence decisions. "What does 'not dangerous' mean?," he asked. De Kerchove acknowledged that President Obama's January 22 Executive Order would entail a review of each detainee. Nonetheless, he noted that France, for example, may be more willing to accept Tunisians, given their greater chance of ultimate integration into French society. ¶4. (U) Another consideration would be the legal status of detainees, including whether they would be considered refugees or have "temporary protected" status. Legal status would also influence which source of funds may be available to Member States, whether from a Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) resettlement fund or from a refugee fund. Additionally, some detainees may be considered "dangerous" and, therefore, require continual surveillance. He understood this to be the case with at least one detainee accepted already by the United Kingdom. In any case the Commission would need to be involved, as the Commission held the possible funding. De Kerchove said he has also contacted officials from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials for guidance. -------------- POSSIBLE PRECEDENT FOR EU-WIDE DECISION -------------- 5, (C) De Kerchove emphasized that the EU remained at the early stages of reaching a consensus. In his view, the GAERC discussion on January 26 was premature, but had proceeded at the insistence of the Portuguese Foreign Minister, someone who had revealed earlier internal EU discussions, when he came out publicly last November in favor of accepting detainees. De Kerchove reiterated his observation that the Czech Presidency had "cold feet," perhaps because Czech officials did not yet know much about this portfolio or because of their own domestic political and legal considerations. Nonetheless, if a consensus were to emerge within the EU, then Member States would find it more palatable individually to accept detainees. De Kerchove found support for this line of thinking from the former occasion when the EU had developed a common response to accepting resettlement of 13 Palestinians from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002. Ultimately, six Member States stepped forward to accept these Palestinians. He noted as an aside, however, that a Palestinian accepted by Belgium was allegedly involved in criminal activities, according to Belgian officials. De Kerchove said, as for his part, he would proceed cautiously on this Guantanamo matter. -------------- NEXT STEPS -------------- ¶6. (C) De Kerchove said he would need to prepare Ministers to discuss the issue in a positive way and mobilize support from the Commission. He said he sensed that the idea of accepting detainees had sufficient support at this stage among various Member States, but he advised that he needed a better "read out" of the previous day's discussion before reaching a firm conclusion. He said he believed that a "new approach" involving an EU-wide consensus would be more fruitful than bilateral approaches to individual Member States. Although EU decision-making remained slow and difficult, his "guess" was that many Member States would be willing to help if such decisions occurred under an "EU umbrella." He added that Foreign Ministers seemed intent on promoting a positive achievement in transatlantic relations; however, Interior and Justice Ministers could certainly add complications. Asked whether EU Vice-President and Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security (JLS) Jacques Barrot planned a trip to Washington soon to discuss Guantanamo, De Kerchove quipped that he had seen press reports that he himself would accompany Barrot on such a visit. That said, De Kerchove indicated that he did not have any firm dates on when such a trip may occur. In any case, he suggested that Mission officers meet with him again in two weeks for another update. -------------- COMMENT BRUSSELS 00000120 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶7. (C) Although De Kerchove said he did not know when the Czech Presidency would return to the Guantanamo detainee question, the Czech Permanent Representative subsequently informed us that the Political and Security Committee (PSC) would do so on January 30. END COMMENT. MURRAY .