HUNGARY'S COMMENTS ON OCTOBER GAERC

UNCLAS BUDAPEST 000777

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE JANMIE MOORE AND EUR/ERA LIZ KONICK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EU HU
SUBJECT: HUNGARY'S COMMENTS ON OCTOBER GAERC

REF: KONICK OCTOBER 17 EMAIL


1. (SBU) MFA EU External Relations and Crisis Situations
Section Chief Andras Dekany discussed ref email topics with
PolOff on October 22 and provided the following comments
concerning the agenda items:


2. (SBU) AFPAK: We welcome the Council's conclusion that will
be adopted, but the emphasis should be on effort and not the
words. Dekany noted that the EU is still waiting for the
U.S. strategy outline, and it will be difficult for the EU to
have a strategy until then. He noted that the GOH sees the
security situation as worsening, and although a military-only
solution is not the total recipe for success, without
security, development efforts will not be effective. Dekany
commented that "we look for a legitimate Afghan government
after the second round of elections" and Hungary fully
supports the "regional approach" to include the EU-Pakistan
dialogue since Pakistan is part of the solution.


3. (SBU) Middle East: Dekany commented that the EU is in a
"listening and waiting mode." We urge the EU, as a party to
the Quartet to examine how to resurrect the peace process.
He expressed concern that the current Israeli government is
taking some actions that head in the opposite direction from
those outlined in the road map. Dekany said Hungary will
look to examine the EU's missions in the West Bank (currently
idle) and the border crossing security offer to determine
what can be done to possibly restart both. Dekany said
Hungary's policy on settlements is in line with EU public
statements and the GOH will encourage Arab countries to
become more active in the peace process.


4. (SBU) Western Balkans: In Bosnia, Dekany said we need to
move cautiously, supporting the transformation towards
capacity-building and training. Prudent planning is required
for an extended process of reconfiguration on the ground. He
commented that there is an agreement within the Visegrad Four
that any transformation from the OHR to the EUSR must take
due consideration of the political process. To achieve these
goals, Hungary remains committed to remain as long as
necessary in the EU mission and is ready to contribute to
future missions in capacity-building and development. Dekany
said that Hungary also announced these intentions at the
October 20 Force Generation Conference.


5. (SBU) Moldova: This subject will be discussed at the
Ministerial dinner. Hungary will urge the Commission to
provide fiscal support to avoid a financial debacle in the
country. The GOH also supports an early start to
negotiations on the association agreement as well as a visa
dialogue. Dekany said that the GOH believes that the Eastern
initiative gives a further boost to strengthen the
relationship with Moldova.
LEVINE