Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09USEUBRUSSELS1663
2009-12-11 12:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
USEU Brussels
Cable title:  

EU CONSULAR CONFERENCES ILLUSTRATE IMPACT OF

Tags:  CASC CVIS EUN KOCI 
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DE RUEHBS #1663/01 3451220
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P 111220Z DEC 09 ZDS ZDK
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY
INFO RUCNMEU/EU INTEREST COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS USEU BRUSSELS 001663 

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED)

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC CVIS EUN KOCI
SUBJECT: EU CONSULAR CONFERENCES ILLUSTRATE IMPACT OF
LISBON TREATY

REF: USEU BRUSSELS 1414

UNCLAS USEU BRUSSELS 001663

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (SENSITIVE CAPTION ADDED)

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC CVIS EUN KOCI
SUBJECT: EU CONSULAR CONFERENCES ILLUSTRATE IMPACT OF
LISBON TREATY

REF: USEU BRUSSELS 1414


1. (U) Summary: The USEU senior consular representative
attended two EU consular seminars in November as an observer.
The first concerned consular assistance to EU nationals in
third countries and the second, international adoptions. The
object of both conferences was to move toward harmonizing
member states' regulations in these areas, which could
ultimately impact U.S. coordination with the EU on consular
services. End Summary.

EU Consular Conference - Providing Consular Assistance


2. (SBU) At the semi-annual, one-day consular seminar hosted
by the EU presidency in Stockholm, the theme was providing
consular assistance to EU nationals in third countries.
Representatives of the EU Presidency, Council and Commission,
along with an academic who tracks the evolution of consular
diplomacy in the EU made presentations to representatives of
25 of the 27 EU member states there.


3. (U) The Council Secretariat representative addressed
possible changes in how EU countries provide consular
assistance outside the EU as the Lisbon Treaty (which came
into force December 1) comes into full effect. Changes
will depend on whether the new European External Action
Service (EEAS) contemplated by the Treaty takes on consular
responsibilities, which currently fall to member states
(reftel). The speaker also addressed the fact that member
states' national laws differ in areas such as responsibility
for permanent residents living abroad, which could pose a
difficulty during an evacuation. He suggested the
possibility of requiring all EU travelers to take out some
sort of travelers insurance with the major insurance
companies contributing to a "super fund" for evacuations.


4. (U) Another speaker discussed how the evolution of
consular work mirrored the evolution of the relationship of
citizens to the state. Provision of consular assistance
abroad increased as citizens' expectations of what their
governments could and should provide grew. The speaker
discussed the emergence of "consular diplomacy," as more
high-profile consular cases emerged involving the highest
levels of government. In the nineteenth century, consular
services were derided as "Cinderella services" but in the
twenty-first century, the issue has moved up the diplomatic

agenda. This has been reflected in the growth of consular
sections and the range of services they provide. Discussing
the fact that the public's demands have risen faster than the
level of consular services provided, the speaker encouraged
member state governments to be active, as opposed to
reactive, in terms of deciding what services they are able
to provide.


5. (SBU) The speaker from the EU Commission discussed a
recent Commission study, to be published in March, of the
level of overseas consular services provided by the 27 member
states to their own citizens and to other EU nationals. The
level and scope of services provided -- such as hospitals
visits and issuance of emergency travel documents -- differed
widely from one member state to another, particularly with
respect to consular assistance provided to other EU
nationals. The speaker recommended member-state
coordination, to avoid their nationals going "consul
shopping."


6. (U) Three break-out groups covered consular assistance
for the mentally ill, Article 36 of the Vienna Convention
(consular notification of arrest),and "honor crimes." The
USEU consular representative attended the session on
providing assistance to the mentally ill. A representative
of the government of Norway -- one of the non-EU member
states present -- spoke about the extensive program in place
in Norway in which the traveler's regional health authority
assumes responsibility for bringing the traveler back to
Norway. In the case of a foreign traveler suffering from
mental illness in Norway, the local health authorities reach
out to the home country health authorities for information
about past treatment, if any. When the patient is ready to
travel home, the Norwegian hospital makes arrangements.


7. (U) The working group on Article 36 noted that there are
problems with early notification of arrests to allow consular
access, often because law enforcement officials do not know
where the arrested traveler is from. The working group on
honor crimes noted that it is important to locate the
appropriate contacts in the host government where such a
crime occurs.


8. (U) Comment: The discussions throughout the seminar were
lively and wide-ranging. Especially interesting were areas
such as the growth in the scope of consular services in which
E

the U.S. and EU member states face similar phenomena of
rising expectations. End comment.

Council of Europe/EU Commission Conference on International
Adoptions


9. (U) The second seminar was a two-day conference on
adoption co-sponsored by the Council of Europe and the EU
Commission. The conference was attended by EU member-state
government officials, adoption organizations, NGOs,
attorneys, jurists, adoptive parents and adults who had been
adopted as children. The first day addressed national
adoptions and the second international adoptions. Both
sessions focused on the revised 2008 European Convention on
the Adoption of Children, which has been signed by 13 states
to date, two of which signed during the conference. When
three more states accede to the Convention it will go into
force. There were eight panel discussions covering every
aspect of the adoption process, all of which stressed the
primacy of the child's interests. The EU Commission reported
that it was engaged in a comparative study of member-state
laws on adoption with a view toward EU legislation in the
area. The panelists covered, for example, the right to
consent to being adopted, rights of a non-custodial
biological parent in the adoption process, access of adoptive
children to their biological identities, the pros and cons of
adoptions by single people, cohabiting couples and same-sex
couples, and the psychological effects of adoption on the
child.


10. (U) During the discussions on international adoptions,
the panelists discussed the 1993 Hague Convention on
Adoption, to which 81 countries are signatory, and the
safeguards it put in place. The general consensus among the
panelists was that international adoption was the third-best
solution for the child, after reintegration into the
biological family and in-country adoption. The speakers
discussed the corrupting role large sums of money play in
international adoptions, the need to protect all parties from
unscrupulous intermediaries and the importance of
transparency in this area. They also discussed the
desirability of "receiving states" (states whose citizens
adopt internationally) providing assistance to "sending
states" (states with children being adopted internationally)
to help children from impoverished families remain in family
units. One idea put forward was that, as EU member states
harmonize their adoption regulations and standards, it may be
possible to create a central adoption authority for the
entire EU and treat the EU as a single area for adoptions.
In that scenario, adoptions from one EU member state to
another would not be considered "inter-country." Both the EU
Commission and EU Parliament have done studies comparing the
adoption regulations in the various EU member states.


11. (SBU) A number of panelists spoke about the situation in
specific countries, including Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania.
There has been a moratorium in Romanian international
adoptions since 2002 due to corruption in the adoption
system. Now that more effective safeguards are in place, the
government of Romania is examining the possibility of
allowing international adoptions . To date, no decision has
yet been taken regarding families whose international
adoptions were in the "pipeline" when the moratorium was put
in place. That decision was defined as "political."


12. (SBU) Comment: Participating as an observer at
EU-sponsored conferences provides an excellent opportunity
for an on-the-ground view of how the EU is having to deal
with issues under the new direction of the Lisbon Treaty. In
addition, it affords the U.S. an opportunity to identify
areas and methods in and by which the U.S. and EU can further
work together. End comment.

MURRAY