US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS2930

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 002930 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/08/2014 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, ETRD, CU, VE, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EU RESPONSE ON LIBERTAD TITLE III AND VENEZUELA 
REFERENDUM 
 
REF: A. STATE 147536 
     B. THE HAGUE 1700 
     C. USEU BRUSSELS 2859 
     D. STATE 145203 
 
Classified By: PolOff Rick Holtzapple, Reasons 1.4 (B/D) 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (C) The European Commission is still considering whether 
or not to send an election observer mission to Venezuela. 
The EU also remains concerned about the possible outcome of 
the White House decision on suspension of Title III of the 
LIBERTAD Act.  The EU still plans to raise this issue at the 
US-EU Task Force and, possibly, Political Directors' meetings 
next week in Brussels.  The EU will likely contend that 
anything but a blanket suspension covering all EU Member 
States will be a reversal of the US-EU 1998 understanding on 
this issue.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (SBU) Following up on Ref C, we delivered Ref A points on 
Venezuela to Karl Buck, Head of the Council Secretariat's 
Latin America Division, on July 7, and sought a readout of 
the July 6 Latin America Working Group (COLAT) discussions of 
Cuba.  We also discussed Ref A points on Cuba with Council US 
desk officer Margarita Comamala on July 8. 
 
VENEZUELA 
--------- 
 
3. (SBU) According to Buck, Caracas had agreed "after some 
pushing" to an EU exploratory mission (advance referendum 
observer team), which the EU "absolutely requires" before 
sending a final mission.  Buck said that Commissioner Chris 
Patten will decide if the final mission will go. 
 
CUBA/LIBERTAD 
------------- 
 
4. (C) The COLAT discussed Cuba in some detail.  Buck 
reported that there had been a "mix of confusion and 
astonishment" following what he described as "informal 
demarches" from the US in a couple of member-state capitals. 
The follow-on points from Washington (Ref D) -- explaining 
that there was, in fact, no decision on whether Title III 
suspension would be on country-by-country basis instead of 
the EU's current blanket waiver -- had clarified the 
situation.  He said that the EU approach -- shared by all 25 
member-states -- is based on the Union's Common Position.  He 
repeated his caution about undoing the US-EU 1998 
understanding (Ref C) and expressed optimism about a positive 
Title III decision vis-a-vis the EU. 
 
5.  (C) Buck told us that the EU will raise Title III in the 
"any other business" part of the July 13 US-EU Political 
Directors' meeting (in order to chime in one more time before 
the decision on Title III suspension is announced on July 
16).  Comamala, who is involved in planning the agendas for 
both meetings, clarified that, while EU participants might 
raise the issue in the July 13 PolDirs, the Secretariat's 
view was that this was more of an economic issue, and 
therefore the EU preferred to have more substantive 
discussion of the issue in the July 14 US-EU Task Force 
meeting.  Comamala stressed that the EU's position was that 
anything other than a blanket suspension covering all of the 
EU would be a reversal of the 1998 understanding under which, 
she said, the EU had agreed to suspend any WTO case against 
the Helms-Burton law. 
 
6. (SBU) COLAT participants also discussed Havana's recent 
release of six additional prisoners.  Although this was, in 
Buck's view, a positive move, he stressed that the EU did not 
currently intend to issue a public statement because it 
maintained that all political prisoners -- not just six -- 
had to be released. 
 
7. (SBU) Finally, Buck reported that he had given the COLAT a 
brief presentation on the Report of the Commission for 
Assistance to a Free Cuba (CAFC), which led to some general 
discussion. He asked us for further information on when 
President Bush might decide which CAFC proposals to implement. 
 
MCKINLEY