BELGIUM READY TO TAKE ON LEGACY ISSUES DURING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000097 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/ERA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR BE SUBJECT: BELGIUM READY TO TAKE ON LEGACY ISSUES DURING UPCOMING EU PRESIDENCY BRUSSELS 00000097 001.4 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On December 18, EUR/WE Director Maureen Cormack met with Willem Van De Voorde, Deputy Director General for European Affairs at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Van De Voorde will be coordinating the substantive policy issues relating to Belgium's EU presidency in July-December 2010. Van De Voorde discussed five "legacy" issues that were developed under previous presidencies and will continue under the Belgians. These are 1) putting the Lisbon Treaty into practice, 2) dealing with the current financial crisis, 3) environment and climate change, 4) the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) work program, also known as the "Stockholm program" and 5) conducting important external meetings and summits, such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Van De Voorde said that Belgium's own priorities are still under discussion and have not yet been established. The Belgian priorities are likely to have an accent on workers' rights, social justice and non-discrimination, he said. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) To better understand the Belgian MFAs role in the EU presidency, Maureen Cormack, the U.S. State Department's Director of Western European Affairs (EUR/WE) met with Willem Van De Voorde, Deputy Director General for European Affairs, at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 18. VanDe Voorde will be coordinating the program f the Belgian EU presidency starting in July 1, ¶2010. His unit is headed by its Director Gneral, Xavier Demoulin. Demoulin will coordinae his activities with a State Secretary, Olivier Chastel, a political appointee, who has similar duties but approaches them from a political, as opposed to a bureaucratic, point of view, according to Van De Voorde. ¶3. (SBU) Van De Voorde stated that it is still too early to define Belgium's own priorities for its presidency. He expects that they will be published around May 2010. He said that the accent in the Belgian program is likely to be on workers' rights, social justice and non-discrimination, based on the influence of the francophone Socialist Party in the Belgian government. He also listed five elements of the "legacy program" introduced and developed under earlier presidencies, on which Belgium will be working after it takes over the Council presidency from the Spanish. These are: 1) putting the Lisbon Treaty into practice, 2) dealing with the current financial crisis, 3) environment and climate change, 4) the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) work program, also known as the "Stockholm program" and 5) conducting important external meetings and summits, such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). TROJKA PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM ¶4. (SBU) Van De Voorde said that he expects the Spanish presidency will look "pretty normal", i.e., like earlier presidencies. Belgium's presidency will focus on implementing the new Lisbon Treaty. Belgium is a small country, he said, but as a founding member BRUSSELS 00000097 002.2 OF 003 it has long experience in working within the EU. The EU's new members distrust some EU institutions but trust Belgium to guide the new institutions into their "right roles" and create the "right precedents", he believes. The three-member presidency "trojkas" of the EU Council are balanced with new and old, and large and small EU member states, which allows for continuity and stability over 18 months rather than just 6 months, Van De Voorde said. An example of this is the upcoming trojka of Spain (large EU member), Belgium (old EU member) and Hungary (new EU member). He said that although all three member states of a presidency are "in the cockpit" only the current Presidency country is "flying the plane." LIFE UNDER LISBON ¶5. (SBU) Van De Voorde said that one important priority of the Belgian presidency will be putting the Lisbon Treaty into practice. This will include working out the details of implementation of Lisbon Treaty elements such as the "citizens' initiative", which are mentioned in only general terms in the Treaty. The external action service (EAS) , the Council's new diplomatic corps serving the High Representative, Catherine Ashton, will have to be set up. Spain will start the work on this. Van De Voorde said the earliest an organizational structure for the service can be approved is April ¶2010. He foresees a twelve-month transitional period during which chairmanship of those working groups chaired by the High Representative under the Lisbon Treaty will be transferred from the member state presidency. Once an organizational diagram is approved, the EAS will be able to recruit staff and begin work. Van De Voorde believes that the way trade issues are handled under the EU's Commissioner for Trade will be a blueprint for how foreign policy issues are handled by the High Representative. This means that the United States will be dealing directly with the High Representative, and lobbying in the member state capitals as well to influence her on particular issues. The main voice will be Ashton's, Van De Voorde said. ECONOMIC CRISIS AFTERMATH ¶6. (SBU) Van De Voorde expects some important EU rules to be created to strengthen oversight of European banks and other financial institutions. Although a majority of EU bankers favor stricter regulations that create a level playing field, Van De Voorde expects some opposition from the financial sector in the city of London. The EU's new economic and social strategy, dubbed "EU 2020" will start to grow in importance after the expiration of the old "Lisbon Strategy" in 2010. EU 2020 will set forth a strategy for finishing internal market reforms and define the structure and goals for job creation in "green" technology industries within the EU. COP15 FOLLOW UP ¶7. (SBU) Van De Voorde said that the shape of the climate change and environmental priorities under the Belgian presidency depend heavily BRUSSELS 00000097 003.2 OF 003 on what comes out of the Copenhagen Summit, which was taking place the day of the meeting with EUR/WE Director Cormack. Belgium's presidency will coordinate translating a political agreement in Copenhagen into EU legislation. Van De Voorde thinks that "carbon leakage" will become a key issue affecting the competitiveness of European products. For example, carbon leakage occurs when production is transferred to China, with its lax environmental regulation, from Europe, with its strict carbon emissions limits. The result is damage to the EU's competitiveness with little resulting environmental benefit, Van De Voorde said. STOCKHOLM PROGRAM ¶8. (SBU) The "Stockholm Program" will develop a framework for cooperation across EU borders in the areas of police and customs cooperation, rescue services, criminal and civil law cooperation, and asylum, migration and visa policy for the period 2010-2014. The program was discussed at the informal ministerial meeting in Stockholm in July 2009 and was adopted by the EU in December 2009. Van De Voorde said that he expects implementation to continue into the Belgian presidency. SUMMITS WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS ¶9. (SBU) Van De Voorde said that organizing and planning of the EU's high-level meetings with foreign partners will be most affected by the Lisbon Treaty. EUR/WE Director Cormack told Van De Voorde that the USG has not committed to holding the EU-U.S. summit in Madrid in May 2010 and that this could impact the planned the date of the EU-U.S. summit to be held in Washington during Belgium's presidency. Van De Voorde took note. He also said that planning has already started for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels October 4-5, 2010, which will include 15 Asian nations and the EU. GUTMAN .