US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE645

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000645 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR OES/ENV - JOHN THOMPSON 
STATE FOR G, EUR/UBI, EUR/ERA 
EPA/OIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AORC, EAGR, ETRD, PREL, SENV, NL 
SUBJECT: ACTION REQUEST ON CRISIS IN GLOBAL AGREEMENT TO 
PROTECT OZONE LAYER: DUTCH RESPONSE 
 
REF: STATE 51580 
 
1.  In response to reftel, Embassy forwarded non-paper and 
talking points, as well as EPA press release, to contacts in 
the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Environment and 
Agriculture.  In addition, Ambassador Sobel left non-paper 
with Foreign Minister Bot after a meeting on March 9. 
 
2.  We followed up with calls on Ms. Tilly Zwartepoorte, 
head of the Environment Ministry's Climate and Industry 
division, who will lead the Dutch delegation to the Montreal 
conference.  Zwartepoorte told us she had briefed 
Environment State Secretary Pieter van Geel, as well as PM's 
advisor Swartbol and MFA's Director-General for European 
Cooperation Marnix Krop about the issue in case of high- 
level phone calls from Washington (we understand the Dutch 
Embassy in Washington has suggested these points of contact 
for calls). 
 
3.  According to Zwartepoorte, the Dutch, who had been asked 
by the Irish to take EU leadership on this issue, are moving 
very cautiously within the EU framework to try to get the EU 
countries on one line, which would be acceptable to the U.S. 
She noted that the Dutch are working hard to reach a 
compromise agreement.  Intensive negotiations have been held 
in Brussels over the past few days and will continue next 
week. 
 
4.  Although Zwartepoorte did not want to give us any hard 
information about the Dutch position prior to the Montreal 
meeting (partly in view of its cautious maneuvering within 
the EU and partly because the real negotiations will take 
place in Montreal), she did raise two points important to 
the Dutch:  (a) There is uncertainty about the methyl 
bromide reserves in the U.S.  How much does the U.S. have 
and what will it do with them?; and (b) Although the Dutch 
want to find an opening for an agreement on the longer term, 
they want to have a concrete commitment from the U.S. about 
how it intends to phase out its use. 
 
5.  Zwartepoorte also noted things had moved higher up the 
political ladder.  Embassy informed her we had provided 
Washington with phone numbers of both Swartbol and Krop. 
 
6.  Environment State Secretary Van Geel will probably not 
go to the Montreal meeting, because he will have to defend 
his budget in the Senate on March 23.  The Dutch delegation, 
headed by Zwartepoorte, will include three of her staff, 
including Marjan van Giezen, who has been leading the Dutch 
delegation so far, and a Foreign Ministry representative. 
 
7.  Embassy's AG Counselor Roger Wentzel was informed by his 
contacts that the Dutch Agricultural Ministry is not 
involved in the discussion. 
 
Sobel