C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BRUSSELS 000401

NOFORN
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL XF XG XW ZJ ZL XD ZF EUN
SUBJECT: EU EMPHASIZES SUCCESS IN PSC PLUS 7 MEETING

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Christopher Murray for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C//NF) Summary: At the March 17 Political and Security
Committee (PSC) Plus 7 meeting organized by the Czech EU
Presidency, representatives of Member States and the EU
institutions generally gave high marks to EU-led civilian and
military operations in Chad, the Gulf of Aden, Georgia,
Kosovo, and Afghanistan. While acknowledging challenges,
such as Russian obstructionism in Georgia, Serb
obstructionism in Kosovo, force generation difficulties for
EUPOL Afghanistan, and resilient pirate groups in the Gulf of
Aden, EU officials generally chose to see the &glass half
full.8 Most third countries took the opportunity to
congratulate the EU for its successes, to pledge personnel
and financial contributions to the EU,s missions, and press
the EU to hold to its commitments. Turkey, on the other
hand, reiterated well-known complaints about the EU,s
treatment of Turkey and suggested that increased Turkish
contributions to EU missions were subject to the EU opening
up to Turkey. Although Turkey made repeated reference to the
&agreed framework8 for NATO-EU relations, concerns about
Cyprus were not at the center of Turkish interventions.
Instead, Turkey focused on the EU,s treatment of non-EU
European Allies, Turkish hopes for high-level appointments in
EULEX Kosovo, and Ankara,s desire to be consulted when the
EU plans operations in geographic proximity to Turkey. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) On March 17, the Czech EU Presidency organized the
second PSC Plus 7 meeting. Initially an initiative of the
French Presidency, the PSC Plus 7 is an informal format that
brings together all non-EU NATO Allies as well as EU
accession countries (United States, Canada, Turkey, Norway,

Iceland, Croatia, and Macedonia). The PSC Plus 7 supplements
the official formats of PSC Plus 3 (non-EU European Allies
Turkey, Norway, and Iceland) and PSC Plus 5 (PSC Plus 3 plus
EU accession states Croatia and Macedonia). The PSC Plus 7
format allows NATO Allies and EU Member States to discuss the
full range of ESDP operations, except the EU,s Operation
ALTHEA in Bosnia, which is the only subject covered in
NAC-PSC meetings.

EUFOR Chad


3. (SBU) Claude-France Arnould, Director of Defense Issues
in the EU Council Secretariat, said strong cooperation
between the EU and UN and the decision of a number of Member
States to &blue hat8 their forces had allowed the EU to
turn over EUFOR,s responsibilities to MINURCAT without
leaving a security vacuum, a claim echoed by the Deputy
Director of the EU Military Staff, Spanish Rear Admiral
Fernando Lista. Arnould praised the EU for applying the
comprehensive approach by coordinating military action with
development assistance and diplomatic engagement. She said
the end of EUFOR Chad would not mean the end of EU engagement
on the diplomatic, humanitarian, and development fronts.
Lista said the EU had shown the ability to deploy a robust
military force to a theater far from Europe, despite
challenging terrain and logistical issues. He called the
operation &a military success8 because it created a safe,
secure environment, worked well with MINURCAT, and resulted
in a decline in violence in the area. With the transition of
EUFOR to the UN, the EU had completed its longest, largest
military operation in Africa.


4. (C) French PSC Ambassador Christine Roger echoed Arnould
and Lista,s claims of success, while noting the &unusually
high8 number of Member States that participated in the
force. She said the EU had paved the way for increased
stability in the region and that the international community
would now have to wait and see how the consequences of
Sudanese President Bashir,s arrest warrant affect refugee
flows. She expressed confidence that the UN could deal with
an influx of refugees from Sudan. (Comment: France, which
pressed for the EU to deploy to Chad, has a particular
interest in claiming political and military success for the
operation. End Comment.)


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5. (SBU) USEU Charge congratulated the EU on a successful
operation and read excerpts from the Department's March 16
press release. Canada, Croatia, Norway, Ireland, and Italy
also congratulated EUFOR for a successful operation. Canada
expressed its intention to provide financial assistance to
the EU to assist in supporting the African Union peacekeeping
exercise AMANI AFRICA in 2010. Canada also said it was
committed to cooperating with the EU on the assessment of
African training Centers of Excellence in West Africa and on
the coordination of capacity building for civilian police to
participate in peace operations. Croatia said it was pleased
to contribute to the force, and that the Croatian
reconnaissance team would remain with MINURCAT for six
months. Norway said plans for the deployment of a field
hospital to MINURCAT to replace the Italian EUFOR hospital
were proceeding as planned, a claim confirmed by Italy.
Ireland expressed appreciation for the value added by non-EU
force contributors.

EUNAVFOR ATALANTA


6. (C) Arnould led the discussion of the EU,s naval
operation off the coast of Somalia, saying the operation was
starting to see positive results, but that pirates still show
the ability to attack far from the coast. She said the
recent agreement between the EU and Kenya would allow the EU
to deliver captured pirates to Kenya for prosecution, and
also announced a recent agreement in principle for the EU to
provide security to UN shipping to support AMISOM. She said
the EU was seeking to increaseits coordination with other
countries involve in counter-piracy and was at work on
&cooperative frameworks8 with Russia, China, India, Saudi
Arabia, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Yemen, and Egypt. These
frameworks include modalities for the exchange of
information, coordination of movements, liaison with the
EU,s Operational Headquarters, and possible sharing of
tanker support for ships engaged in counter-piracy. Arnould
also praised the &strong cooperation8 between the EU and
Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 and said the EU expects to
cooperate closely with NATO when Standing NATO Maritime Group
(SNMG) 1 begins counter-piracy operations. Finally, she
thanked Norway for agreeing to contribute a frigate to the
operation.


7. (C) Rear Admiral Lista said Operation ATALANTA currently
consists of five ships, two maritime patrol aircraft, and
approximately 1,000 personnel from twelve Member States. He
said escorts of World Food Program shipping had made it
possible to feed four million Somalis. The Maritime Security
Centre website allowed the EU to communicate with and advise
the merchant community.


8. (C) The UK said the agreement with Kenya was a step
forward and that coordination with all actors would be
essential. The UK also emphasized the need to help develop
local capacity, especially criminal justice capacity, to
allow for the successful prosecution of pirates. Noting the
difference between ground and naval operations, the UK said
good weather would ironically make countering piracy more
difficult, for it would allow the pirates to operate more
easily.


9. (C) Croatia said it was willing to contribute five naval
officers to the EU,s headquarters, subject to parliamentary
approval. Canada said it would have a ship in the NATO force
and that it supports coordination and information exchanges
between NATO and the EU. Spain said it had been contributing
a patrol aircraft since the beginning of the operation and
would send a frigate and support ship during its command of
the Force Headquarters, which begins in a few weeks. Norway
said it would contribute a frigate to the EU force for six
months beginning in August.


10. (C//NF) Turkey intervened to emphasize its concerns
about EU cooperation with non-EU European Allies. While
Turkey welcomed the informal PSC Plus 7 format, which allows
Canada and the U.S. to participate, it prefers the official
formats of PSC Plus 3 or PSC Plus 5 ) although the Turks
emphasize that the PSC Plus 3 is their first preference.

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Turkey emphasized that its record of contributions bears
witness to the value it can add, but that early, robust
consultations between the EU and non-EU European Allies were
critical. Calling on the EU to implement fully the Nice
Implementation Document from 2002, Turkey said the EU should
consult with non-EU European Allies in advance of launching
operations, especially when those operations would take place
in the geographic proximity of Allies. On piracy, Turkey
referenced Turkish participation in the Contact Group and CTF
151 and said coordination between all actors in the region
was important. On the margins of the meeting, a Turkish rep
told PolOff that NATO-EU cooperation on counter-piracy would
have to take place within &the agreed modalities.8


11. (C//NF) Responding to the Turkish emphasis on PSC Plus
3 meetings, the Czech Ambassador chairing the meeting said
the PSC Plus 7 format is informal and does not replace the
official formats, to which the Turkish Ambassador replied
that a PSC Plus 3 meeting ) the format Turkey prefers to PSC
Plus 5 ) had not happened for some time. (Comment: A
Canadian colleague noted the irony to PolOff that while
Canada and the U.S. support greater EU-Turkey cooperation,
Turkey prefers to meet with the PSC without North American
participation. End Comment.)

EUMM Georgia


12. (C) Kees Klompenhouwer, who leads the EU,s Civilian
Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) unit, led the
discussion of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, which he
called a clear example of the EU,s commitment to conflict
resolution and regional stability. He said the EU,s
response to the Georgian crisis showed its ability to react
rapidly and strongly, and that EUMM Georgia was successfully
implementing its mandate. The mission had recently rebutted
Russian allegations about Georgian military movements, and a
new Memorandum of Understanding with Georgia would provide
further transparency on Georgian military actions. The
agreement in Geneva to establish an incident response and
prevention mechanism was important, but needs diplomatic
follow-up. He acknowledged that EU monitors do not have
access to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but said the EU is
ready to continue its presence even if the OSCE and UN
missions come to an end.


13. (C) Sweden said the lack of access to the breakaway
republics was a serious problem and emphasized the importance
of working to keep the OSCE mission alive. Noting
&complications8 in the incident response and prevention
mechanism agreed in Geneva, Sweden lamented that no dates had
been set for further consultations in Geneva. Sweden also
noted that Russia had not agreed to place a liaison to EUMM
on the ground, but nonetheless launched allegations against
the Georgians. Concluding, Sweden said that the EU in
troikas with Russia must emphasize the Russian commitment to
withdraw in line with ceasefire agreements.


14. (C) Turkey intervened to question why the EU had not
accepted the Turkish offer of personnel for EUMM Georgia.
Klompenhouwer responded with the well-known refrain that the
EU had wanted to show that the 27 Member States could respond
and therefore did not require third country contributions.

EULEX Kosovo


15. (C) The Czech EU Presidency said the EU,s Rule of Law
Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo is maturing and coordination with
NATO,s KFOR is strong. The Presidency said that the mission
had passed its first tests at the turn of the year and had
implemented measures to increase responsiveness. Further,
the Presidency said that EULEX was starting to implement the
core of its mandate and was picking up speed.


16. (C) Klompenhouwer reported that EULEX is implementing
its mandate throughout Kosovo. He said that EULEX had
secured its first conviction in a war crimes case and that
the first case in the Mitrovica courthouse was being heard.
Klompenhouwer stressed that the Kosovo Police remain the
first responders ) with EULEX supporting in a mentoring,

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monitoring and advising (MMA) capacity ) backed up by EULEX
special police units and KFOR in that order. EULEX is
facilitating joint, multi-ethnic patrols in North Mitrovica.


17. (C) Klompenhouwer said that the mission is getting
greater cooperation from Belgrade, but needs to make progress
on integrating ethnic Serb police officers into Kosovo,s
police forces south of the Ibar. Head of Mission Yves de
Kermabon will travel to Belgrade March 19 to work out this
and other technical issues. On customs, Klompenhouwer said
EULEX was manning Gates 1 and 31, but not yet collecting
duties. He reported that the mission was currently staffed
by some 1,695 internationals with another 150 personnel
coming on line prior to reaching a full operating capability
(FOC) by the end of March.


18. (C) Despite these achievements, Klompenhouwer stressed
that the mission &wasn,t there yet.8 He singled out
customs and the effective functioning of the Mitrovica
courthouse as key tasks moving forward. Klompenhouwer said
that a &single economic and legal space across Kosovo was
key8 and thanked third states for their political and
substantive support.


19. (SBU) USEU Charge congratulated the EU on its
successful deployment and said EULEX now needs a burst of
energy to assert itself on control of customs and courts in
the Serb-majority north. He also called for a strong common
approach to Serbia, supporting its integration to Europe but
insisting that Belgrade deliver on its promise of full
cooperation with EULEX. (Note: Klompenhouwer nodded upon
hearing each of the Charge,s points, with his personal
assistant later thanking PolOff for the Charge,s comments
and continued support for EULEX by the U.S. End note.)


20. (C//NF) Turkey said it is taking part in EULEX with 38
personnel, which it is willing to increase to 150. At the
same time, Turkey attaches particular importance to the
selection of Turkish personnel to specific positions in
EULEX. (On the margins of the meeting, a Turkish contact
told PolOff that while an increase in Turkish participation
was not officially tied to certain positions, the two issues
are clearly related.) Canada praised the progress Kosovo has
made since independence and said it would be ready to
contribute following the next EU call for contributions.
Spain said Kosovo still confronts challenges to stability,
such as organized crime, and that EULEX reaching FOC was
critical. Spain also praised the opening of a EULEX office
in Belgrade. Italy emphasized the importance of the mission
and expressed satisfaction that no major security incident
had taken place since Kosovo,s declaration of independence.
Italy also said deploying throughout the country is critical.

EUPOL Afghanistan


21. (C) Klompenhouwer said that after a difficult start,
EUPOL Afghanistan had reached the minimum number of personnel
necessary to execute the mission and had reoriented its
mandate to include more than just strategic advising. The EU
still needs to increase contributions to reach 400 personnel
and is working hard to attract those contributions.
Klompenhouwer said cooperation with international
organizations and third countries is improving and that EUPOL
is working with CSTC-A to fill niches in the international
police training effort. While Klompenhouwer acknowledged the
challenges that lie ahead for EUPOL, he said he prefers to
think of the mission as a &glass half full.8 After the
meeting, Klompenhouwer told USEU that he is concerned that if
NATO stands up a police training mission and calls for
contributors from European Allies, NATO force generation will
compete with EUPOL. Klompenhouwer suggested that using a
contractor to recruit retired rather than active duty police
could avoid this problem.


22. (SBU) USEU Charge said that helping Afghanistan will
take a redoubled international effort, which is why the U.S.
is undertaking a broad-ranging strategic review while
simultaneously increasing its force contributions by 17,000.
He said we welcome EU input into our review, and that recent

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high-level visitors had made this point to EU counterparts.
He said the U.S. looks forward to EUPOL reaching its
authorized strength of 400 personnel, and expressed
confidence that we will find a security solution that allows
EU police trainers to deploy increasingly outside Kabul.


23. (SBU) The Netherlands emphasized that the EU has
commitments it must meet. Calling for increased
contributions and improved international coordination of
police training and development aid, the Netherlands
confirmed that it would host a conference on March 31, to
which 72 countries and 15 organizations are invited. The
conference will include discussions of security, political,
and development issues, with an emphasis on the regional
dimension.


24. (C) Norway said it would increase its personnel
contribution to international police training efforts from 18
to 23, although it did not say how many of these would be
placed under EUPOL. Norway is also considering increasing
its participation in Focused District Development in Faryab
province, which it would do in coordination with EUPOL.
Canada predicted that the U.S. review would make reference to
the need for increased police training efforts, and that
Canada was keen to help EUPOL take on an increased role
outside Kabul. With NATO contemplating an increased police
training role, Canada emphasized that the EU needs to get up
to strength, have a clear mandate, and establish benchmarks
to avoid withering away.


25. (C) Germany said EUPOL is now present in sixteen
provinces, and the EU is committed to doubling the mission to

400. Germany said optimism is justified and that
contributions by third states like Canada, Norway, and
Croatia are substantial and important. Calling for improved
international coordination, Germany also reiterated the need
for a security agreement with ISAF, both for EUPOL and for a
potential EU election observation mission for the 2009 Afghan
elections. Klompenhouwer echoed the need for a security
agreement. The European Commission representative Richard
Wright stressed that Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner
wants to send a full election observation mission to
Afghanistan, but that such a mission depends on receiving
assurances of security and that the Commission would rely on
the full cooperation of international partners in achieving
this goal.


26. (C//NF) Turkey said building the Afghan National
Security Forces is critical to success, and Turkey is helping
to train both army and police officials. Turkey expressed
its willingness to contribute to EUPOL once NATO and the EU
reach the necessary technical agreements. (Comment: Turkey
has, in fact, blocked a NATO-EU technical agreement, which
it insists should only exist under the agreed framework that
excludes Cyprus.)

Any Other Business


27. (C//NF) Before the meeting closed, Turkey spoke again
about the need for the EU to consult with non-EU European
Allies in an intensified way when the EU is considering
operations in Allies, geographic proximity. With that in
mind, Turkey said if the EU re-invigorates its mission in
Gaza, it should do so only after close consultations with
Turkey. In addition, Turkey is willing to contribute as the
EU increases its numbers in its police mission in the West
Bank.
MURRAY
.