BELGIUM: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS VIEWS ON EU

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001345 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE AND EUR/ERA E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV BE EU SUBJECT: BELGIUM: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS VIEWS ON EU FOREIGN POLICY AND BELGIUM'S UPCOMING EU PRESIDENCY Classified By: Acting Political-Economic Counselor Robert Kiene for rea sons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Belgium's foreign policy priorities in the EU include the EU's policy towards Belgium's former colonies, toward those countries where Belgian soldiers are posted, enlargement, and ensuring that EU foreign policy is developed according to agreed-upon standards. Belgium remains deeply committed to the EU and participating in the formation of a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP),principally because its history as a battleground during major wars. It desires to be taken seriously as a critical EU member, but is keenly conscious of its medium size. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the lead in the government on EU issues, and is actively planning for Belgium's EU presidency in 2010. Within the MFA, the work is shared among several offices, from the cabinet of the Foreign Minister to the EU policy Directorate. Experience with 12 previous EU presidencies has given the GOB a well developed, but complex, set of rules for dividing up EU committee responsibilities among the federal and regional governments in Belgium. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Poloffs and Polintern met September 18 with Belgian MFA European Correspondent and CFSP Director Colette Taquet, Taquet's Deputy, Christophe Payot, and the Director for External Action (GAERC),Filip David, to learn about Belgian priorities in foreign policy development and how the GOB plans to manage its EU presidency in the latter half of ¶2010. ¶3. (C) Taquet and David listed several issues on which Belgium is focusing in EU foreign policy coordination. --Belgium is keenly interested in affecting EU policy on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium's former colonies of Burundi and Rwanda. --Belgium regularly speaks in CFSP discussions on countries where Belgian soldiers are deployed, currently Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, and Kosovo. --Belgium is active during enlargement debates, arguing that EU enlargement should remain rules-based. Taquet said that Belgium sees the process of enlarging the European family so that all new members are equal as the goal, rather than a political exercise simply to increase the buffer zone between the core of the EU and the former Soviet space, as some countries do. --Immigration and migration discussions are important to Belgium, as a destination and transit country. Events and policies in Eastern European and Mediterranean countries are important to Belgium, because they affect the number of immigrants on Brussels streets. --Taquet said that Belgium is often the lone voice in the EU opposing the tendency for larger EU members (France and Germany especially) to make decisions among themselves and impose them on the rest of the EU. Taquet and her boss, Minister Leterme, have labeled these groups "directoires." As a defender of process and EU rules, Belgium strongly believes the CFSP should be formulated in accordance with existing, normal EU procedures. ¶4. (C) Belgium remains deeply engaged and committed to the EU and participating in the formation of the CFSP. Taquet said that the Belgian view is that the CFSP is "by and large" effective. She cited the EU's response to the Georgia crisis of 2008, within 15 days, as proof. She stated that Belgium tries to avoid bargaining and voting blocs and work towards consensus. She acknowledged that there are 27 members of the EU, each with its own unique point of view, and that country geography and history define which countries actively engage on particular issues. For example, Lithuania does not have strong views on Congo. She has found lengthy EU discussions useful on some of the more difficult issues, such as the Middle East and Iran. According to Taquet, the Belgian people staunchly support a strong common EU foreign policy, mainly for historical reasons, after having many wars fought on their soil. ¶5. (C) Taquet described the process for developing Belgium's positions on issues discussed inside the EU. Belgium's positions are typically debated at coordination meetings held at the MFA with the appropriate federal cabinet minister present. Taquet said that including the minister ensures that once a decision is made, its becomes policy quickly. According to Taquet, the process has "served us well". David commented that in a small country like Belgium, lines of communication are short, enabling rapid decisions. BRUSSELS 00001345 002 OF 002 Nevertheless, General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) agendas are often published at the last minute, meaning the MFA is not always able to develop a GOB coordinated position ahead of its meetings. When that happens, the Belgian representative usually falls back on the GOB's previously agreed internal position. ¶6. (C) David pointed out that Belgium's next EU presidency, during the latter half of 2010, will be Belgium's 12th presidency since 1957. The MFA has the lead in managing the Belgian presidency apparatus. During an EU presidency, meetings are held both in Brussels and in-country in the EU nation holding the presidency. For Belgium, responsibilities will still be divided between its permanent representation to the EU, handling all "Brussels" meetings, and the MFA, handling "in-country" meetings. Taquet called the Lisbon treaty a "silent revolution" as it affects CFSP. She believes that much will change, making the EU a foreign policy player commensurate with its economic power. Uncertainty regarding the Lisbon treaty has led to a wait-and-see approach by the MFA in its EU presidency planning. However, the assumption in the MFA is that the Irish will approve the treaty and it will be in force by January 1, 2010. Taquet said that Spain has already planned for its Presidency without taking the Lisbon treaty into account. Belgium therefore expects to play a major role in developing institutions under the Treaty as the first Presidency to put it into effect. ¶7. (C) Logistics and management of Belgium's EU Presidency will be based in the MFA. During this early planning period, post will meet the following major players who set Belgium's EU plans: - Xavier Demoulin, Director General of the European Affairs Department - Jean-Arthur Regibeau, Director General of Multi-lateral affairs - Colette Taquet, European Correspondent and CFSP Director - Filip David, Director for External Action (GAERC) - A member/Coordinator from Leterme's cabinet - A coordinator from Secretary of State for EU Affairs Chastel's cabinet - A scheduler for meetings (where, when, how many people, cars, chairs) - A coordinator for contacts and content ¶8. (C) When Belgium assumes the EU presidency, the chairperson for each EU ministerial meeting and working group will be clearly designated. Despite the complexity of the Belgian Government at the federal and regional levels, Taquet said the system "works." Six formats for Belgian EU chairmanships are planned, to be applied depending on the committees' and the Belgian government entities' areas of responsibility: ¶1. Federal Minister Chair only ¶2. Federal Minister Chair with Regional Minister auditing ¶3. Regional Minister Chair with Federal Minister auditing ¶4. Federal Minister with two Regional Minister auditing (Flanders/Wallonia) ¶5. Flemish Regional Minister only (for fisheries issues only, because Belgium's coastline is entirely in Flanders) ¶6. Francophone or Flemish Language Community Chairman, with no federal minister present ¶9. (C) COMMENT: Belgium is strongly committed to the EU for historical reasons, which in turn makes it a staunch supporter of a common EU foreign policy. The Belgians wish to actively shape EU foreign policy through internal EU engagement, advocating a transparent, rules-based approach. Being a medium-sized country withinthe EU, it is accustomed to acting as a traffic cop, trying to get both large and small EU family members follow the same rules. In foreign policy, Belgian and EU positions are typically very similar, which allows Belgium to use the EU's clout to support its own positions. END COMMENT GUTMAN .