EU REACTION TO BURMA POLICY REVIEW UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000579

SIPDIS
NOFORN

STATE FOR EAP/MLS LAURA SCHEIBE; EUR/ERA
NSC FOR ELIZABETH PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD BM EUN
SUBJECT: EU REACTION TO BURMA POLICY REVIEW UPDATE

REF: STATE 33547

BRUSSELS 00000579 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: USEU Pol M-C Chris Davis for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Brussels-based EU officials working on
Burma policy issues appreciated receiving reftel points on
the status of the ongoing U.S. policy review. Although the
EU still intends a straight rollover of its Common Position
and restrictive measures, Foreign Ministers may issue
politically forward-leaning written policy conclusions at
their next meeting of the General Affairs and External
Relations Council (GAERC) on April 27-28. In presentations
to the Political and Security Committee and EU Member State
Asia Directors on April 7-8, EU Special Representative for
Burma Pietro Fassino made an impassioned plea for increased
EU engagement with the Burmese regime, and urged Member
States to accept the 2010 elections on the premise that bad
elections are better than no elections. The EU is eager for
the policy review to conclude and would like to work closely
with the U.S. on our new approach. End summary.


2. (C) Poloff delivered reftel points to Seamus Gillespie,
Head of Unit for South-East Asia at the European Commission;
Leo Nordholt Schulte, Desk Officer for Burma at the European
Council General Secretariat; and to Asia officers at the
Czech, UK, and Dutch Permanent Representations to the EU.
All interlocutors welcomed the information and urged close
cooperation on Burma as the review process winds down.

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April GAERC preview
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3. (C) Schulte, Gillespie, and the Czech Perm Rep confirmed
that Ministers plan to roll over the Common Position on
Burma, which contains restrictive measures and sanctions at
the April 27-28 GAERC meeting in Luxembourg. They report
that the EU's position will be unchanged, save for the
addition and update of a few named individuals and entities.


4. (C) Originally led to believe that the roll over of the
Common Position would take without discussion, we are NOW
advised by the Czech Presidency to expect detailed GAERC
conclusions calling for the following:

-- Reform of the UN Good Offices mission,
-- Extension of the Tripartite Core Group,
-- Cooperation and coordination with regional partners,
-- Readiness for the EU to react to developments on the
ground,
-- Release of Aung San Suu Kyi,
-- Free and fair elections with full participation from all
political actors.

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Fassino's star rises
--------------


5. (C) Pietro Fassino, the EU Special Representative for
Burma, reportedly made an impassioned plea to the Political
and Security Committee and to Member State Asia Directors on
April 7 and 8, respectively. Telling Member State reps that
the sanctions were not working, Fassino called for a new
approach. Fassino said he wanted the EU to be more active
and willing to engage, and was backed up by the Italians, who
said that they found it incredible that the EU met with the
North Koreans at a more senior and substantive level than
with the Burmese.


6. (C) Fassino also asserted that the EU needed to be
prepared to accept the 2010 Burmese elections, despite
inevitable flaws. Arguing that bad elections were better
than no elections, he pointed to Indonesia as an example of a
country that made much progress after flawed national
elections. (Note: We urged the Czech Presidency to avoid
endorsing 2010 elections in their conclusions; internal EU
debate continues. End Note) Fassino asked for greater
authority to lead EU policy formulation on Burma and
advocated for the EU to extend greater incentives toward the
regime for good behavior. Uneasy with Fassino's calls for

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enhanced incentives and forward-leaning GAERC conclusions,
the UK's Asia Director pushed back, and urged colleagues to
maintain restraint while awaiting the results of the USG
policy review. The British were backed by Denmark and the
Netherlands, although both are typically softer on Burma.


7. (C//NF) Gillespie, Schulte, and the UK's Brussels-based
Asia officer tell us that Fassino, who was generally poorly
regarded and thought to be somewhat naive, seems to have
improved his standing among Member States with last week's
strong interventions.

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EU willing to await U.S. conclusions
--------------


8. (C//NF) Contacts were universally pleased at the prospect
of a new U.S. approach to Burma. While some Member States
remain skeptical of sanctions in general, most were
supportive of U.S. reported plans for dialogue with the
regime and increased assistance, while maintaining pressure
for democratic and human rights reforms. The UK, France,
Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark wanted the EU to remain
firm, with France pointing out that the United States could
more easily talk to the ruling junta via military-to-military
channels. Germany and Austria argued that the EU should be
more pragmatic about how to reduce the military role over
time and were generally soft on the way forward. The
European Commission would be eager to coordinate closely on
new or enhanced assistance programs, and disclosed that their
Bangkok-based aid workers enjoy easy access to nearly every
corner of the country. Likeminded Member States indicated a
willingness to listen to the results of the U.S. policy
review and revisit their own policy later this year.
Southern European states, led by Germany and Italy, are
pushing for GAERC conclusions NOW that would encourage
dialogue and development assistance.

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Czech confusion leads to detailed conclusions
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9. (C//NF) Brussels-based EU institutional and Member State
contacts revealed that the Czech Presidency showed poor
internal coordination regarding the question of GAERC
conclusions on the Common Position rollover. One contact in
the Council Secretariat told us that he sent strongly worded
draft conclusions to Member States for comment on a recent
Friday, upon instructions from the Czech Presidency in Prague
over his objections. Subsequently, the Czech Asia Director
disagreed with his subordinate's decision to sign out the
draft conclusions, and contacted the Council Secretariat to
instruct them to cancel the message. The message had already
been sent, however, and with Fassino's strengthening
performance and the mistaken release of the draft, Member
States decided to press ahead with detailed conclusions,
instead of the short comment on the rollover that we had
initially anticipated.

MURRAY
.