US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS733

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000733 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR P RICHARD MILES, WHA/AND SUSAN BELL, EUR/ERA TOM 
LERSTEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SNAR, PHUM, EAID, ETRD, CO, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EU VISIT GIVES URIBE LITTLE 
 
REF: A. A) ROME 561 
     B. B) BRUSSELS 542 
     C. C) STATE 24530 
 
Classified By: USEU POLOFF TODD HUIZINGA, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's February 
9-10 EU visit resulted in a cooperation and information 
sharing agreement between Colombia and Europol. He got little 
from the Commission on an EU/Andean trade pact, or a 10 year 
GSP extension. EC officials said  that they would have no new 
aid for Colombia until 2006 but did not rule out a possible 
pledging meeting before then.  The EU did express misgivings 
about Uribe's anti-terrorism statute and some members of the 
European Parliament walked out when he addressed them.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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TRADE AND AID 
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2. (C) An EC interlocutor from the European Commission's 
Directorate-General for External Relations told us that 
Uribe's priorities were getting Commission agreement for a 
donors' meeting in Brussels and improving trade.  EC 
President Prodi, Commissioners Lamy (trade) and Patten 
(foreign relations) said that, while they want to help 
Colombia where possible, they had not a euro to pledge until 
2006.  The Commissioners suggested that a donor meeting might 
be possible if packaged as a follow-up to the July 2003 
London Meeting on International Support for Colombia. 
 
3. (C) On trade, Uribe pressed for progress toward an 
EU-Andean Community Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and for a 
ten-year extension of Colombia's Generalized System of 
Preferences (GSP) trade benefits.  The EC said that the 
Andean Community needs to make more progress toward regional 
integration by measures such as the introduction of a common 
external tariff and reducing non-tariff trade barriers.  The 
Commission has extended the GSP trade benefits for one year, 
until December 31, 2005.  (They had been set to run out on 
December 31, 2004.)  Our source told us that he believed the 
EU would find a way to extend the GSP benefits for a full ten 
years, despite the Indian complaint at the WTO challenging 
the legality of the benefits. 
 
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SOLANA MEETING: EUROPOL-COLOMBIA COOPERATION 
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4. (SBU) Uribe also met with EU HighRep Javier Solana, after 
which a cooperation and information-sharing agreement between 
Europol and Colombia was signed.  Our Commission interlocutor 
reported that Solana's primary message to Uribe was the same 
as the Commissioners': political support for Uribe's efforts 
to build democracy and fight terrorism. 
 
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EU PARLIAMENT A MIXED BAG 
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5. (U) In his address to the plenary and an additional 
meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee, Uribe defended 
his anti-terrorism policies and responded ably to criticism, 
as he reportedly had at a separate meeting with human rights 
NGOs in Brussels.  However, some Greens and Leftist members 
of the European Parliament (MEPs) wearing scarves with the 
inscription, "peace and democracy in Colombia" walked out 
when he spoke. 
 
SCHNABEL