Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BRUSSELS567
2009-04-16 14:41:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
USEU Brussels
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR SPECIAL ENVOY MITCHELL'S VISIT TO

Tags:  OVIP MITCHELL AMGT PREL EUN 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000567 

SIPDIS
NOFORN

PLEASE PASS TO SPECIAL ENVOY GEORGE MITCHELL'S PARTY FROM
CHARGE D'AFFAIRES CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2019
TAGS: OVIP MITCHELL AMGT PREL EUN
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SPECIAL ENVOY MITCHELL'S VISIT TO
THE EU IN BRUSSELS

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, CHRISTOPHER W. MURRAY, FOR REASONS
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000567

SIPDIS
NOFORN

PLEASE PASS TO SPECIAL ENVOY GEORGE MITCHELL'S PARTY FROM
CHARGE D'AFFAIRES CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2019
TAGS: OVIP MITCHELL AMGT PREL EUN
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SPECIAL ENVOY MITCHELL'S VISIT TO
THE EU IN BRUSSELS

Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, CHRISTOPHER W. MURRAY, FOR REASONS 1.
4(B) AND (D).

Senator Mitchell,


1. (C) We warmly welcome your visit to Brussels. The
members of the European Union's Political and Security
Committee (PSC) look forward to meeting with you April 22 and
exchanging ideas on Israeli-Palestinian and broader regional
peace. The President heard from EU heads of state/government
in regard to Middle East peace at the U.S.-EU Summit in
Prague on April 5. In Prague, Spanish PM Zapatero, on behalf
of the EU-27, said that settlement expansion cast into doubt
the validity of a two-state solution. He also raised as a
problem the absence of a recognized Palestinian negotiating
partner.

--------------
Why the PSC Matters
--------------


2. (C) You have already met several times with High
Representative Javier Solana, whose personal commitment to
the search for peace in the Middle East is well-known
throughout Europe. While his role is high profile, EU
foreign and security policy is developed through a continuous
process of consensus building in the PSC. The PSC is made up
of ambassadors from all 27 member states who meet at least
twice a week to debate and prepare decisions on the full
range of external relations issues of concern to the EU.
Their discussions lead the way for agreed positions of their
foreign ministers, who convene monthly at the General Affairs
and External Relations Council (GAERC) meetings. The PSC is
led by the representative of the rotational EU presidency--at
this time the Czechs. They and we have asked that you meet
with the PSC so that the members of this critical
policy-building level of the EU can hear your insights into
prospects for peace in the Middle East based on your recent
trips. The previous two U.S. officials who have addressed
this group are General David Petraeus on February 12, and
Special Representative Richard Holbrooke on March 23. We do
not expect any additional such U.S. exchanges with the PSC

before the summer. Your thoughts will be transmitted by each
PSC Ambassador to his or her capital.

--------------
Anxiety about Israel
--------------


3. (C) There is considerable and sometimes sharp debate
within the EU over how to move forward in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Even before the Israeli
incursion into Gaza at the end of 2008, the EU had become
sharply critical of the humanitarian and political impact of
Israel's closure of Gaza. After the military action, many
were openly cynical about the call for reconstruction funds,
with some in the EU saying they did not want to repeatedly
rebuild what Israel destroyed during military incursions.
Since the end of the military action, the EU has expressed
frustration at Israel's restrictions on what can be imported
and on the limited number of trucks allowed into Gaza, in
addition to restrictions on the movement of persons. The EU
is critical as well of Israel's continued West Bank
settlement activity and its destruction of houses in East
Jerusalem. The new government in Israel gives many in the EU
pause, with some suggesting a slow-down in the upgrading of
EU-Israeli relations until the new government makes explicit
its commitment to a two-state solution.

--------------
Dealing with Hamas and Syria
--------------


4. (C) The EU continues to share officially our support for
Quartet principles, but among many countries there is growing
skepticism of the shared U.S.-EU stipulation that Hamas
accept Quartet principles if we are to deal with it. We have
heard that in recent foreign ministers' meetings several

BRUSSELS 00000567 002 OF 002


ministers argued that it is time to deal with Hamas as a fact
on the ground, or that we should be flexible in dealing with
a possible Hamas presence in a Palestinian transition
government. You may hear questions about how the U.S. or EU
should deal with the prospect of Hamas being part of, or
leading, a future Palestinian government after the next round
of elections. On broader issues, there is general support in
the EU for moving forward sometime this summer on an
Association Agreement with Syria, an instrument nearly every
other Mediterranean state except Libya already has. Some EU
states want to go slow because of concerns over human rights,
nuclear proliferation, interference in Lebanon, or terrorism
support. However, we have heard that most think that
engagement is the way to press Syria to improve its behavior,
with Solana and some others arguing it is also the way to
pull Syria out of Iran's orbit.

--------------
The EU's Role
--------------


5. (C) The PSC ambassadors will want your insights from
your just completed trip and will want to hear in greater
detail the Administration's thinking on ways forward given
the issues before us. They would like to know, specifically,
if the Administration will continue to work on the basis of
the Annapolis Conference or will focus on the Roadmap. You
will be asked how the U.S. will work with the new Israeli
government if it does not explicitly commit itself to a
two-state solution. Your interlocutors may well argue that
only the U.S. can influence Israel and urge that the U.S.
press Israel hard on settlements, home demolitions, and
opening of Gaza. You will want to describe what the U.S.
intends to do, and also urge the PSC members to use the EU's
influence as well. They will also be interested in your
thoughts on Iran's role in the region.


6. (U) The EU is one of the largest contributors to a wide
range of Palestinian assistance programs. Assistance
provided by the European Commission totals $581.2 million for
2008, including contributions to support the Palestinian
Authority; contributions to UNRWA for refugees; humanitarian
and food aid; a stability instrument to promote the rule of
law; and several other programs. In addition to the amount
given by the Commission, many individual EU member states
also have a wide range of bilateral assistance programs that
amount to several hundred million dollars a year. Like us,
the EU does not work with Hamas, but it provides considerable
assistance to Gaza, including paying salaries of teachers and
doctors.


7. (C) The Middle East conflict has been discussed by the
Secretary of State in her meetings with the EU Troika
(Czechs, Swedes, Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, High
Representative Solana) on March 6 in Brussels and with all 27
EU Foreign Ministers in Prague on April 5. The President
also discussed the Middle East with EU heads of government in
Prague on April 5, in a session separate from that of the
Foreign Ministers.


8. (C) The EU plays an important economic and trade role in
the Middle East and we pay attention to the structures like
the PSC where member states work to build and keep consensus.
There are times when the EU steps forward to play a somewhat
complicating role, and there are also times when it can
appear to depend too much on us for action, such as in saying
only we can influence Israel on settlements and on Gaza. The
EU has welcomed your appointment and the greater activism of
the U.S. in the Middle East under the new Administration.
Your visit provides an excellent opportunity to ensure we
continue to work together on these difficult issues.
.