EU AND NATO CONCERNED ABOUT BOSNIA, BUT PLANS FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000885

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2019
TAGS: MOPS MARR PREL XG BK EUN
SUBJECT: EU AND NATO CONCERNED ABOUT BOSNIA, BUT PLANS FOR
EUFOR TRANSITION MOVING FORWARD

Classified By: USEU Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Christopher Murray for reas
ons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is a joint cable from USEU and USNATO.


2. (C) Summary: On June 22, NATO and EU Ambassadors met in
the NAC-PSC format to discuss Bosnia. Most presenters
lamented the lack of political progress in Bosnia, noting
that High Rep Inzko had invoked Bonn powers over the weekend,
but agreed that the security situation is stable. A notable
exception to this was Turkey, which emphasized the fragility
of the security situation and called for EUFOR ALTHEA to
continue to operate under its current mandate. EU High Rep
Javier Solana said the EU will continue planning for the
eventual transition of EUFOR ALTHEA to a non-executive
mission, and for a transition of the Office of the High
Representative (OHR) to an enhanced EU Special Representative
(EUSR) -- points repeated by the Swedish EU Ambassador.
Solana spoke highly of his trip to Bosnia alongside Vice
President Biden, stressing the importance of keeping the U.S.
and EU aligned on Bosnia policy. DSACEUR and EU Operational
Commander said SHAPE had completed a training and needs
analysis for the Bosnian military and would incorporate the
findings into the operations plan (OPLAN) for a reconfigured
EUFOR. The OPLAN will be presented to EU Member States for
comment in mid-August, with briefings to the EU Military
Committee on September 2 and EU Ambassadors on September 9.
NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer confirmed that
the door to NATO membership remains open, but stressed that
Bosnia still has some work to do before being ready for a
Membership Action Plan. During a seemingly impromptu
exchange at the end of the meeting, Solana thanked De Hoop
Scheffer for all he had done for NATO-EU relations, but the
NATO SYG lamented that NATO-EU cooperation was not broader
and closer. End Summary.


3. (C) On June 22, NATO and EU Ambassadors met in the
NAC-PSC format to discuss Bosnia. The brief session, which
lasted less than an hour, was hosted by the EU and chaired by
High Rep Javier Solana. Solana opened the meeting by
describing his joint visit to Bosnia with Vice President
Biden. He said they had spoken to a number of key Bosnian
leaders, sending a message of U.S.-EU unity and trying to
calm the nationalist rhetoric. Solana averred that the U.S.
and EU both agreed to continue working toward fulfillment of
the 5 2 conditions and to move ahead with an eventual OHR
transition. He also stressed that he and Vice President
Biden had agreed that it will be vital to move Bosnia "in the
direction of Europe." Solana expressed concern that the
situation in Bosnia had forced High Rep Inzko to invoke the
Bonn powers over the weekend and said he hopes the situation
will calm down in the coming days and weeks. In the
meantime, since the political tension had not translated into
violence, he said the EU would continue to plan for the
reconfiguration of Operation ALTHEA to a non-executive
mission. Solana also promised that the EU would continue to
insist on the fulfillment of the 5 2 to allow a transition
from the OHR to an enhanced EUSR.


4. (C) DSACEUR and EUFOR Operational Commander, Gen. John
McColl, described the security situation in Bosnia as calm
and stable despite the political difficulties, saying there
was no evidence to suggest this would change. EUFOR is ready
to intervene if necessary, but if not, will remain focused on
its monitoring, advising, and training tasks. In addition,
he noted that EUFOR had been involved in several operations
to target persons indicted for war crimes. McColl noted that
while EUFOR remained "viable for the moment," the flexibility
of troop contributors is key to ensuring that gaps do not
arise in EUFOR's situational awareness as some nations begin
to downsize or withdraw their contingents. He also expressed
concern at reductions in helicopter support, specifically the
announcement that Switzerland would withdraw its two
helicopters by the end of September.


5. (C) McColl said the Berlin Plus arrangements had been a
proven success in Bosnia, with SHAPE now providing planning
support to the EU for an eventual transition to a
non-executive mission. McColl said that after EU foreign and
defense ministers approved the concept of operations for that
transition in May, he and his staff began preparing the
operations plan (OPLAN). The reconfigured mission would

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include a small headquarters in theater, along with several
training teams, and would also include units from
contributing states to carry out the training. During his
briefing and in response to questions from the U.S., McColl
said SHAPE had completed a training and needs analysis for
the Bosnian military forces, which would allow him to flesh
out the details of a reconfigured EUFOR mandate in the OPLAN.
A draft OPLAN will be circulated to EU Member States in
August for comment, with Gen. McColl briefing the EU Military
Committee on September 2 and EU Ambassadors on September 9.


6. (C) NATO Secretary General, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, said
NATO's cooperation with Bosnia takes place in the context of
the Partnership for Peace and Intensified Dialogue. He
confirmed that the door to NATO membership remains open, but
stressed that Bosnia still has some work to do before it is
ready for a Membership Action Plan. He expressed hope that
Bosnia's political leaders will find a way to bridge their
differences. On Operation ALTHEA, he said Berlin Plus
arrangements had been successful, and that NATO is closely
following EU discussions of an eventual transition to a
non-executive mission. He requested that the EU consult with
NATO as it makes plans and that regular NAC-PSC meetings
continue.


7. (C) NATO's Chairman of the Military Committee, Admiral
Di Paola, said Bosnia is moving ahead on the planning process
for defense reform, but budget shortfalls have slowed
capacity development while political and ethnic divisions are
constraining the reform process. He said NATO understands
that the Berlin Plus link will remain even after the
reconfiguration of Operation ALTHEA, and confirmed that NATO
stands ready to work with the relevant EU bodies. He said
NATO-EU coordination would be important given that NATO is
also examining its presence in Bosnia and the region.


8. (C) Only Turkey, the U.S., Sweden and the Czech Republic
made interventions (Note: Sweden's EU Ambassador said it
would be unfortunate if no EU Member States commented, and so
intervened as the incoming EU Presidency country. This
obliged the Czechs, as current EU President, to make a brief
comment as well. End Note.) Turkey's NATO Ambassador said
that although the situation in Bosnia seems stable, it is
actually quite fragile beneath the surface. As current UNSC
President and an active member of the Peace Implementation
Council Steering Board, he said Turkey is following the
situation closely. He argued that given the fragility of the
situation, EUFOR ALTHEA should continue to function under its
current mandate, noting that Turkey is the third largest
contributor to EUFOR. Saying the OHR should have access to
the Bonn powers when necessary, he argued that a transition
from the OHR to an enhanced EUSR should only take place after
all conditions are met. Turkey then reiterated its call for
close consultations with both NATO and non-EU troop
contributors before any decision to reconfigure EUFOR, noting
that these consultations would take place with due regard for
each institution's decision-making autonomy, as provided for
in the Berlin Plus arrangements. As noted in para 5, the
U.S. asked for clarification on the EU's planning timeline.
The Swedish EU Ambassador said that Sweden would continue to
take forward planning for an eventual reconfiguration of
ALTHEA and a transition to an enhanced EUSR, but noted that
the EUSR transition could only take place after the 5 2
were fulfilled. The OHR transition would be important to
help Bosnia move closer to the EU, he argued. The Czech
Republic also welcomed the preparatory work for a transition
of ALTHEA to a non-executive mandate, but said that the
approval of planning documents does not pre-judge the
evolution of the mission.


9. (C) The meeting closed after Solana quickly dismissed
the Any Other Business item -- during which we had planned to
raise international cooperation in Afghanistan -- and made a
personal comment to De Hoop Scheffer. Solana thanked De Hoop
Scheffer for his commitment to NATO-EU relations and his
tireless work to make the NAC-PSC a productive format despite
persistent challenges. De Hoop Scheffer responded by
thanking Solana and saying that one of the true
disappointments of his tenure was that NATO and the EU had
not made greater progress on cooperation. He noted that the
EU had matured in the five years since the launch of EUFOR
ALTHEA and said he would like to see the growth and

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intensification of the NATO-EU dialogue. Comment: USEU
raised international cooperation in Afghanistan with NATO
Allies and EU Member States during the PSC Plus 8 meeting the
following day (SEPTEL). End Comment.

MURRAY
.