AFPAK: WHITE PAPER AND SUMMIT DELIVERABLES

C O N F I D E N T I A L USEU BRUSSELS 000466 SIPDIS FOR SCA/A TOM REOTT, EUR/RPM AARON COPE, EUR/ERA DANIEL WEISFIELD E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2019 TAGS: NATO PREL MOPS MARR AF EUN SUBJECT: AFPAK: WHITE PAPER AND SUMMIT DELIVERABLES MESSAGES CONVEYED TO EU REF: A. SECSTATE 28929 ¶B. SECSTATE 29482 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Christopher W. Murray for reason 1.4 b/d ¶1. (U) As instructed (REF A),Charge d'Affaires, Political Minister-Counselor, and Pol Off relayed points for the April 5 U.S.-EU Summit to Robert Cooper, Council Secretariat Director for Politico-Military Affairs; Marek Grela, Council Secretariat Director for Transatlantic Relations; Ivo Sramek, Czech Political and Security Committee Ambassador to the EU; Patrick Child, Chief of Cabinet for Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner; Richard Wright, Commission Representative to the Political and Security Committee; James Moran, Commission Director for Asia; David Tirr, Commission Head of Unit for Afghanistan and Pakistan; Helen Campbell, Commission European Correspondent; Boguslaw Majewski, Council Secretariat Head of Unit for Asia; and Tim Eestermans, EU Council Secretariat Desk Officer for Afghanistan and Pakistan. On March 27 we delivered the Afghanistan-Pakistan White Paper (REF B) to the same individuals, or their offices. ¶2. (C) EU officials welcomed the information. Tirr said that the Commission was not in a position to comment on either document, as Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner was in China and would travel directly from there to the March 31 International Conference on Afghanistan in the Hague. In a conversation with Eestermans on March 30, he noted there had been no EU discussion of the White Paper yet, but that it would be on the agenda for upcoming discussions. On March 31, PolOff met with the Commission Desk Officer for Pakistan Heino Marius and Swedish Permanent Representation Counselor for Asia Charlotta Macias. Neither were aware of any plans for the EU to discuss the White Paper in detail prior to the U.S. - EU Summit. However, both expected that at the Summit the EU would welcome the new U.S. strategy and emphasize the United States' and EU's mutual interests in taking a regional approach and boosting civilian efforts. Sramek, too, told us he appreciated receiving Ref A and expected its points would be discussed at the U.S. Summit in Prague. ¶3. (C) Informally, two EU contacts expressed concern to Pol Off with what they saw as a "continued overarching U.S. focus on counterinsurgency" in the White Paper and noted that the EU might criticize this point, although there had been no formal discussion of that yet among member states. The contacts added that although U.S. officials had stressed that accomplishing the primary goal involved more than just military tasks, some in the EU were concerned that "putting EU instruments in service of this goal changed those instruments". They pointed to the EU police mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) and its focus on classical policing, rather than counterinsurgency tactics, as one example of a difference in approach between the United States and the EU. MURRAY .