US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS2354

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 002354 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DOD FOR OSD/SOLIC-SO - DAVID DES ROCHES; DEPARTMENT FOR 
AF/RSA - MBITTRICK; IO/UNP - MWEINBERG; DEPARTMENT PLEASE 
PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OFDA - AMENGHETTI; GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, MOPS, PGOV, PREL, PREF, UX, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EU-FUNDED AFRICA PEACE FACILITY TO STRENGTHEN AU, 
PEACEKEEPING IN AFRICA 
 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary.  The European Union (EU) formally 
announced the establishment of the Africa Peace Facility 
(APF), and funds are now available to support peacekeeping 
and peace-enforcing operations in Africa.  The EU aims to 
strengthen the role of the African Union (AU), particularly 
the Peace and Stability Council, through this new funding 
mechanism.  Although Africans will initiate requests for 
disbursements from the 250 million euro account, the EU will 
have final say over what can be funded.  Certain expenditures 
-- such as ammunition, arms and specific military equipment, 
spare parts for arms and military equipment, military 
salaries and military training for soldiers -- are 
prohibited.  All deployments must be consistent the UN 
principles and objectives.   The APF's support for 
deployments in Africa will complement the USG's Global Peace 
Operations Initiative.  End Summary. 
 
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APF:  Based on African Ownership & Solidarity 
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2. (U) The EU used the launching of the AU's Peace and 
Stability Council (AU/PSC) on May 25 to announce that the 
long-awaited Africa Peace Facility is now operational.  The 
AU/PSC will play a central role in the implementation of the 
APF.  In prepared remarks for the May 25 ceremony in Addis 
Ababa, Development Commissioner Poul Nielson noted, "The 
launching of the Peace and Security Council is both historic 
and welcome.  Based on continental solidarity and firm 
regional building blocks, the Council is destined to be a 
necessary and indispensable contribution to promoting peace 
and stability in Africa.  The EU's speedy approval of the 
Peace Facility recognizes the credibility and authority with 
which the AU is taking responsibility in the area of peace 
and security.  The Peace Facility gives concrete backing to 
the emerging African resolve of dealing with African 
conflicts." 
 
3. (SBU) On May 6, EU officials provided additional details 
to David des Roches (OSD/SOLIC-SO) and USEU personnel 
regarding the APF, a 250 million euro funding mechanism to 
support peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations in 
Africa through 2006.  DG Development Pan-African Affairs 
officer Igor Driesmans outlined EU objectives in establishing 
the AFP as follows: 
 
-- African Ownership:  At the EU/AU Maputo Summit in July 
2003, African heads of state initiated the request for the 
APF, stressing the need for the EU to support African 
solutions to African problems.  To accomplish this, most of 
the APF funds (200 million euros) will be used to support 
AU/PSC deployments or peace operations of sub-regional groups 
such as ECOWAS.  The European Commission (EC) envisions 
funding about 6-10 operations during the three-year funding 
cycle.  The balance of the funds will be used for capacity 
building activities, including the formulation of a 
comprehensive AU Peace and Security policy.  Driesmans 
stressed that either the AU or a sub-regional group will need 
to initiate a request to withdraw funds from the APF.  The EU 
will only authorize expenditures if they are consistent with 
UN sanctioned principles or objectives.  He distinguished 
between peacekeeping operations (which would require informal 
UN endorsements) and peace enforcement operations (which 
would require specific UN mandates). Furthermore, Driesmans 
noted that the EU does not plan to fully fund any single 
mission, but will favorably consider operations that have 
support from other donors. 
 
-- Use of Development Funds:  Based on the premise that 
development cannot take place without security, the APF peace 
operations are funded with European Development Funds (EDF). 
Driesmans said that the use of development funds for PKOs was 
"taboo for a long time" in the EU, but that after many 
deliberations a paradigm shift had been approved.  Apart from 
experimental funding for regional peacekeeping deployments in 
Burundi (AMIB), Liberia (ECOWAS) and Cote d'Ivoire, the EC 
use of development money for peace and security has been 
limited to post-conflict rehabilitation. 
 
-- African Solidarity:  To share the financial burden of 
peacekeeping, all AU beneficiaries of EDF (the entire 
continent, minus South Africa and the Arab states of north 
Africa) agreed to cede a percentage of their national 
development funds to the APF.  Until the EU can devise for a 
formula for the other states of the continent to contribute 
financially to the APF, no deployments can be made in South 
Africa or northern Africa (and possibly no troops from these 
countries can be selected for APF-funded deployments either). 
 
4. (SBU) Driesmans clarified that the following APF 
expenditures will be prohibited:  ammunition, arms and 
specific military equipment, spare parts for arms and 
military equipment, military salaries and military training 
for soldiers.  Authorized expenses include:  per diem for 
African peacekeeping troops, communications equipment, 
medical facilities, refurbishing civilian equipment, 
transport and logistics. 
 
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Technical Limitations 
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5. (SBU) Regarding concern about budgetary and fiscal control 
over the APF funds, the EC stressed that the 250 million euro 
funding mechanism would be managed from Brussels and payments 
disbursed as deployments are approved.  To initiative a 
request, the AU will engage the EC delegation in Addis Ababa 
and suggest an operation.  The EC will review the request and 
forward it to EU Member States if the request is deemed 
appropriate (i.e., has a UN mandate and meets the other 
established conditions).  Once the 25 EU Member States 
approve, the EC will negotiate and review the budget request 
submitted by the AU (this frequently involves scaling back 
the requests).   The EC will then develop a specific document 
elaborating the parameters of the funding decision, including 
the amount of financial support to be withdrawn from the APF 
and the length of time the deployment would be supported, 
which will be submitted to the Member States development 
forum for final approval.  In theory, this entire process 
could be accomplished in a month.  The EC plans to reinforce 
its delegation in Addis Ababa to include someone with a 
military background. 
 
6. (SBU) LTC Joachim Elte of the EU Council's Military Staff 
(Operations and Exercises Divisions) stressed that the APF 
would complement -- not replace -- ESDP operations in Africa, 
such as the 2003 deployment in the Democratic Republic of 
Congo (i.e., Operation Artemis). 
 
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APF and GPOI 
------------------------ 
 
7. (SBU) At the meeting, des Roches briefed the EU on the 
USG's Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI), which also 
envisions strengthening peace operations in Africa. 
Concluding observations remarked on the complementary nature 
of the APF and GPOI, with the former focusing mainly on 
deployments and the latter concentrating on longer-term 
training and capacity building.  Another distinction between 
the two approaches was the EU's focus on a continent-wide 
approach and the U.S. focus on building specific national 
battalions. 
 
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Comment 
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8.  (SBU)  Now that the paper work is in place, the APF 
peacekeeping funds can begin to flow.  Sudan has been cited 
as one possible venue for the inaugural use of the APF. 
Another suggestion has been prolonging the AMIB deployment in 
Burundi, if needed.  Whether the APF could be renewed after a 
three year period depends on the upcoming reformulation of 
the EU budget.  Nielson and other senior EC officials have 
suggested folding the European Development Fund into the 
general Commission budget.  Unless new rules are written for 
the general budget, the use of development funds for PKOs 
could again be halted when current APF funds expire in 2006. 
 
FOSTER