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.

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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
.