AUSTRIAN VIEWS IN ADVANCE OF THE GAERC

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 001378 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2019 TAGS: EUN PGOV PREL AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN VIEWS IN ADVANCE OF THE GAERC REF: 10/17/09 EUR/ERA EMAIL Classified by: Economic-Political Counselor J. Dean Yap for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) Polchief met October 21 with Klaus Famira, MFA European Correspondent, to deliver ref email points and discuss the October 26-27 GAERC. Famira offered the following views: ¶2. (U) Afghanistan: GAERC participants will discuss the post-election political environmental and how the EU can prepare for the second round of elections. A key element will be the question of whether the EU will have an observer mission for the second round. ¶3. (C) EU-Syria Association Agreement: The Association Agreement with Syria has been removed from the agenda. Famira said the Syrian Government has backed out of the Agreement in protest over an EU decision to raise human rights concerns in the signing statement. The EU drafted the signing statement in order to overcome Dutch objections that the Agreement did not address human rights. ¶4. (U) Pakistan: The consensus within the EU is that the increased level of EU aid for Pakistan is beginning to have an effect. The EU at the GAERC will discuss what additional measures could be taken to bolster the Pakistani economy. ¶5. (U) Bosnia: Representatives at the GAERC will discuss the transition from the OHR to the EUSR. The GOA favors a quick transition and does not believe constitutional reform should be a prerequisite for the transition. ¶6. (U) Albanian EU Candidacy: Participants will discuss whether to forward Albania's EU accession bid to the European Commission. The GOA views this as a technical issue and believes the matter should be forwarded to the Commission without delay, but Germany is reluctant to support that view and it is unlikely that a decision would be made at next week's GAERC. ¶7. (U) Sri Lanka: Relations between the EU and the Sri Lankan Government have deteriorated as the Government has failed to address the humanitarian crisis faced by some 280,000 IDPs in Sri Lanka. GAERC participants will discuss the crisis and what is perceived as the Sri Lankan Government's increasingly authoritarian approach. ¶8. (U) Moldova: Representatives will discuss the option of providing emergency financial support to Moldova. The EU is concerned about the financial crisis in Moldova, and could make its aid package available more quickly than the IMF and World Bank assistance currently in the pipeline. HOH