SACEUR: JULY 15 MEETING WITH THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000970

SIPDIS

SACEUR FOR CHARLES KUZELL AND LARRY BUTLER. STATE FOR
EUR/WE AND EUR/RPM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2019
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS PGOV ECON BE
SUBJECT: SACEUR: JULY 15 MEETING WITH THE BELGIAN GOVERNMENT

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Wayne Bush for reasons 1.4 B & D.


1. (C) Admiral Stavridis, Embassy Brussels welcomes your
visit to Brussels and wishes to provide you background for
your upcoming meetings with Belgian King Albert II, Prime
Minister Herman Van Rompuy, Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht,
Defense Minister Peter De Crem, and Chief of Defense General
Charles-Henri Delcour. The meetings take place against the
backdrop of a coming Cabinet reshuffle, after which FM De
Gucht will depart for the European Commission, and in the
midst of growing Belgian concern about the economy and the
government's widening budget deficit. U.S. Embassy Brussels
has actively promoted greater Belgian engagement in
Afghanistan, closer cooperation on counterterrorism and
better coordination with the GOB in Africa. End Summary.


2. (C) Cooperation with NATO and USG: Belgium is a founding
member of NATO. Although the GOB opposed the U.S.
intervention in Iraq, under the current government it has
committed a proportionately significant amount of its
military resources to ISAF in Afghanistan. Nevertheless,
Belgium has for years fallen far short of the NATO objective
of spending at least two percent of GDP on defense, and is
not likely to increase from the 1.2 percent level given the
current restrictive budget environment. The USG has 1200
personnel stationed in US Army Garrisons in Brussels and
Chievres, which provide support to U.S. forces at NATO and
SHAPE respectively. The USAF 309th Airlift Squadron is also
at Chievres. The USG maintains a Munitions Support Squadron
(MUNNS) at the Belgian air base at Kleine Brogel. The
Belgian port of Antwerp is an important link in the lines of
communication between the CONUS and Iraq, and a small
detachment from the 21st Theater Support Command is located
there to assist.


3. (C) Political Situation: Herman Van Rompuy took office in
December, 2008, after his predecessor resigned amid
controversy surrounding his efforts to ensure the sale of
Belgium's Fortis bank to the French bank BNP Paribas. Van
Rompuy has long experience in Belgian politics, which are
deeply influenced by the rivalry between the country's Dutch-
and French-speaking communities. Van Rompuy keeps a low
profile and is focused on domestic consensus-building and the
budget rather than advancing an ambitious agenda. He is a
leader of the center-right Flemish Christian Democratic
party. Regional elections held June 7 brought parties to
power in the Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels Capital regions
that are different than the party coalition that currently
serves in PM Van Rompuy's federal government. It is unclear
how regional priorities will affect Van Rompuy's efforts to
reach a compromise on the federal budget, which must be
approved by Parliament on October 2. FM De Gucht has
recently decided to leave the government and take Belgium's
EU Commission slot as Commissioner for Development
Assistance. Van Rompuy is expected to announce a new Cabinet
by the end of July. We expect his predecessor Yves Leterme
to become the new Foreign Minister and Pieter De Crem to
remain as Defense Minister.


4. (U) Role of the King: King Albert II took the oath as King
of the Belgians on August 9, 1993. As head of state, the
King plays a largely ceremonial and symbolic role. His
primary political function is to designate a political leader
to form a new cabinet following either an election, the
resignation of a government, or a parliamentary vote of no
confidence. The King is seen as playing a symbolic unifying
role, representing a common Belgian identity. He signs laws
and treaties after passage by Parliament. He is also the
Commander in Chief of the Belgian armed forces. He and his
wife, Queen Paola, celebrated their fiftieth wedding
anniversary July 2.


5. (C) Afghanistan: Belgium's Defense Minister, Flemish
Christian Democrat Pieter De Crem, is an outspoken supporter
of a robust Belgian role in NATO. De Crem has led Belgium to
increase its military efforts in Afghanistan since the 2007
elections -- despite resource limitations and considerable
opposition. Outgoing Foreign Minister, Flemish Liberal Karel
De Gucht generally supports Belgium's role in ISAF but is
cautious about endangering Belgian troops and relying on the
Karzai government, which he views as corrupt. Belgium
currently provides four F-16s and support personnel in
Kandahar, security forces for the Kabul airport, and an
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) and other

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personnel that participate in the German-led PRT in Kunduz.
Belgium will send two more F-16s to Afghanistan by the end of
July and a second OMLT by December. Currently, more than 500
Belgian soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan out of 1200
worldwide. Sixty to seventy percent of Belgium's defense
budget is spent on NATO operations, including ISAF. Belgium
has provided nearly $40 million in development assistance to
Afghanistan since 2003, and has recently doubled its pledge
for each of the next two years from $6 million to $12
million. Belgium has also deployed troops to Kosovo,
Lebanon, Chad (for Darfur refugees),and the DRC.


6. (C) Africa: Belgium's relationship with its former
colony, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of its
main foreign policy priorities. The Embassy has been working
hard to improve information exchanges between the Belgian
Ministry of Defense and AFRICOM on security sector reform in
the Eastern DRC. Belgium has provided troops to an EU force
in Chad to protect refugees from Darfur, and is sending a
frigate to assist in anti-piracy efforts off the coast of
Somalia. In June, Belgium asked the USG for assistance in
landing a vessel protection detachment after a Belgian owned
dredger, the Pompei, was released by the Somali pirates who
captured the ship in April. The United States agreed to
assist but did not have a vessel close enough to provide the
support within the requested timeline. The GOB nonetheless
very much appreciated the USG's willingness to respond.


7. (C) Economic Crisis: Belgium's banking system nearly
collapsed before the government stepped in last fall to
rescue the most important banks. The largest bank, Fortis,
was taken over by the French bank BNP Paribas. The outlook
for the entire banking sector was recently downgraded by
Moody's from stable to negative. Unemployment is rising,
closing in on seven percent in Flanders, where the economy is
heavily dependent on trade, foreign investment, transport
through the Port of Antwerp, and diamonds. The unemployment
rate has not risen as much iintelligenchor medical
treatmentQran has the potential to
play a constructive role on Afghanistan, but doubts that Iran
will relinquish its nuclear ambitions and is skeptical that
diplomacy will ultimately prove effective in dealing with
Iran's nuclear program. The Belgians appeared to
substantially reduce Iranian financial transactions through
Belgian banks when we raised the issue last year. De Gucht
focused heavily on Iran in 2007 in part because two Belgian
tourists from his home town were briefly held hostage by
bandits in a remote area of Iran. During its 2007-2008
tenure on the UN Security Council, Belgium chaired the Iran
sanctions committee and coordinated closely with us on
nonproliferation issues.


10. (C) Guantanamo: In December, De Gucht said that Belgium
would do its part to address the question of Guantanamo
detainees. Two recent trips by Special Envoy Daniel Fried
have moved Belgium closer to taking action, and the Belgians
are currently viewing files of specific detainees to decide
whether to accept any of them.

BUSH
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