US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS4994

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 004994 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2014 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, PTER, AF, PK, IN, CE, NP, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: A/S ROCCA DISCUSSES SOUTH ASIA WITH EU 
 
REF: THE HAGUE 2924 
 
Classified By: USEU PolOff Sarah Groen for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY.  On November 12 and 15 in Brussels, SA A/S 
Christina Rocca met with DG Robert Cooper of the European 
Council and DDG Herve Jouanjean of the European Commission to 
discuss the current situation and upcoming challenges in 
South Asia.  A/S Rocca raised concerns about deteriorating 
political conditions in Bangladesh and the burgeoning 
narcotics problem in Afghanistan.  EU officials provided a 
readout of the recent EU-India summit, and described what the 
new "strategic partnership" between the EU and India may look 
like.  They discussed how European Commission (EC) assistance 
could be given a "clearer political foundation" to improve 
conditions in Bangladesh, requested that the US continue to 
encourage the Nepalese government and military to support 
human rights, and asked when the U.S. would be ready for 
another meeting of the Sri Lanka Donors Co-Chair Group.  The 
Council's Cooper said he would look into having Nepal's 
Maoists placed under EU terrorist financing sanctions.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
BANGLADESH 
========== 
 
2.  (C) Conveying the seriousness of snowballing problems in 
Bangladesh was one of A/S Rocca's most urgent messages.  She 
pointed out that the government of Bangladesh is nearly at a 
standstill, that violence is rising between political 
parties, and that extremist groups are gaining influence. 
The political problems will be exacerbated by job losses due 
to the expiration of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in January. 
Corruption at Bangladesh ports is a major area of concern. 
The USG was also concerned about the lack of transparency in 
the Bangladeshi investigation into the August 21 
assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina. 
 
3.  (C) Commission DDG Jouanjean, who had recently returned 
from a trip to Bangladesh, expressed deep concern about the 
situation there.  He pointed out that general instability and 
increasing fundamentalism could pose major security problems 
for both the EU and the US.  He discussed how EC assistance 
to Bangladesh could be used more effectively to address the 
political situation there, perhaps by tying assistance to 
benchmarks.  Council interlocutors made the same point, 
saying EC assistance to Bangladesh could be given "a clearer 
political foundation," with more attention to which types of 
groups receive EU funds.  Jouanjean also suggested the EU and 
U.S. get together with World Bank and others to explore how 
to deal with the situation in Bangladesh and work out a 
common strategy.  Rocca agreed such a meeting could be useful. 
 
AFGHANISTAN 
=========== 
 
4.  (C) A/S Rocca pointed out that another crisis requiring 
immediate attention is the increasing drug cultivation in 
Afghanistan.  She told the EU officials that levels of poppy 
growth next year will likely be significantly higher than 
previously forecast, and that if action is not taken, 
Afghanistan risks deteriorating into a narco-state along the 
lines of Colombia.  A multi-year plan for drug eradication 
and alternative livelihoods, with broad support from 
international donors, would be required to stave off the 
crisis.  Such a program would need an Afghan face in order to 
be successful. 
 
5.  (C) Cooper agreed on the seriousness of the problem, but 
expressed a slightly different perspective, saying "tons of 
money" has already been spent on combating drugs in 
Afghanistan, and the problems remain.  "The missing 
ingredient has been a functioning government," he said, and 
expressed optimism that as Karzai gains strength, he will be 
able to address the country's drug problems.  He doubted that 
eradication alone could solve the problem, saying any 
eradication would have to take place in parallel with 
development of alternative livelihoods. 
 
INDIA 
===== 
 
6.  (C) A/S Rocca inquired about the recent EU-India summit, 
and what the new EU-India "strategic partnership" might look 
like (Reftel).  Commission officials said the summit was a 
huge success, and that they were particularly impressed with 
the "fantastic quality" of Manmohan Singh's participation. 
Both Council and Commission interlocutors said the 
partnership is still very undefined, but will likely include 
increased cooperation on opening markets, nonproliferation, 
counter-terrorism, and regulatory issues.  New areas of 
cooperation will include energy, environment, industrial 
policy, and cultural dialogue.  The next step is for 
expert-level working groups to create a more definitive 
action plan for cooperation between the EU and India, to be 
presented at next year's summit. 
 
7.  (C) A/S Rocca and Council officials agreed that a major 
priority for both the US and EU is to see India take more 
responsibility for export control.    Cooper mentioned that 
perhaps the EU could talk to India about the EU peer review 
process on export controls. 
 
PAKISTAN 
======== 
 
8.  (C) On Pakistan, A/S Rocca expressed cautious optimism 
about ongoing India-Pakistan dialogue over Kashmir.  "They 
know what has to be done," she said, "but they need to sense 
that the world is still watching."  She said President 
Musharraf had made recent controversial remarks about 
"options" intentionally in order to force a public debate. 
Musharraf said that if Pakistan and Indian governments were 
to reach a solution in secret, and then try to force it on an 
unprepared public, the solution would not work. 
 
9.  (C) Cooper suggested that perhaps the EU could sponsor a 
seminar in Pakistan (or elsewhere in the region) to discuss 
ten European dilemmas involving ethnic enclaves (such as 
Macedonia, Northern Ireland or South Tyrol), to help foster a 
public dialogue about resolving the Kashmir issue. 
 
NEPAL 
===== 
 
10.  (C) A/S Rocca raised the issue of placing Nepal's Maoist 
rebels on the EU's finance terror list.  Cooper responded 
that he was not sure why they were not already on the list, 
and said he would verify their status and inquire why the EU 
was resisting placing them on the list. 
 
11.  (C) Commission officials asked that the US continue to 
stress the importance of human rights in its dealings with 
the Nepalese government and military, asserting that "If 
there is no accord on human rights, it undermines 
everything."  In her Council meeting, A/S Rocca pointed out 
that all U.S. training programs for the Nepalese government 
and military have a human rights component and suggested 
other nations could also provide human rights training. 
 
SRI LANKA 
========= 
 
12.  (C) Regarding the Sri Lanka Donors Co-Chair Group, 
Commission DDG Jouanjean asked when the next round of 
meetings could take place, suggesting December.  A/S Rocca 
said that with personnel changes in the Department of State, 
the timeline for the next meetings could not be determined 
yet, but that Deputy Secretary Armitage is not opposed to a 
co-chairs meeting. 
 
13.  (U) A/S Rocca has cleared this message. 
 
Schnabel