US embassy cable - 05THEHAGUE1073

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001073 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KPAL, IZ, LE, ZI, CG, SU, NL, EUN 
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/GAERC:  DUTCH MOSTLY TRACK U.S. 
POSITIONS 
 
REF: STATE 72185 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Andrew J. Schofer for reasons 1.4 (b 
) and (d) 
 
 1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  Poloff delivered reftel demarche to 
Adriaan Palm (MFA, Office of Political Affairs) on April 21 
and participated in the Dutch briefing on the GAERC later the 
same day, where Canada and Australia also took part.  Palm 
said this GAERC would have an abbreviated agenda and adjourn 
early at 5 p.m. to move to the signing of the accession 
treaties with Romania and Bulgaria.  The GoNL agreed with the 
gist of reftel points.  Palm noted that the draft Council 
conclusions he had tracked USG points in large part. 
Separately, Poloff spoke with Stella Kloth (MFA, Africa 
division) on Sudan and Great Lakes, where the Dutch have made 
substantial contributions.  In addition to reftel points, the 
GAERC will discuss Russia and the four common spaces talks, 
Serbia, and the status of the rocky negotiations on financial 
perspectives, which Luxembourg still hopes to conclude in 
June. On the margins, there will be talks on Croatia.  End 
Summary. 
 
IRAQ 
 
2.  (C)  Iraq will "not really be on the agenda," Palm said. 
He noted that the Dutch are open to the conference and that 
their PSC Ambassador Alfons Hamet was following developments 
closely. 
 
MEPP 
 
3.  (C)  When Poloff raised the MEPP with Palm in private, he 
praised President Bush's recent statements and said the EU 
would emphasize keeping pressure on Israel, noting if the 
"United States asks them to refrain from something, like 
expanding settlements, then they should do so."  Noting his 
failure to mention the Palestinians, Poloff reiterated reftel 
point that both sides needed to abide by agreements and 
obligations under the Road Map.  In the later, larger 
briefing, Palm presented a more balanced version of the draft 
Council conclusions before him.  He said the EU would push 
both sides to honor Sharm el Sheik commitments.  The 
Palestinians needed to address terrorist attacks and security 
more comprehensively, noting PM Abbas was working to 
restructure security services.  Israel, he said, needed to 
lift roadblocks and stop settlements, and both sides needed 
to avoid provocations. 
 
LEBANON 
 
4.  (C)  The Council discussions will focus more on the MEPP 
than Lebanon, Palm said.  He agreed with reftel points and 
said the GoNL would likely take note of the elections. The EU 
would be willing to provide election support, including an 
observer mission, he added. 
 
SUDAN 
 
5.  (C)  Palm knew of no new EC contributions for Sudan, 
noting the Dutch had already made very generous 
contributions.  Separately, Kloth said that the Dutch favor 
rapid expansion of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and have 
supported it with 5 million euros for logistics, 
communications, and so forth.  The Dutch would react 
favorably and quickly to an AMIS request for an intelligence 
officer, she said. 
 
ZIMBABWE 
 
6.  (C)  Palm said the EU did not consider the election to be 
free or fair and saw no reason now to lift or reduce 
sanctions.  They are asking themselves, "what next?" and 
believe the best route to pressure the GoZ is through SADEC, 
particularly South Africa.  (Note: FM Bot is scheduled to 
travel to SA in June, Palm said.) 
 
GREAT LAKES 
 
7.  (C)  Palm said that an EU ESDP mission was going to the 
region to support disarmament and reintegration;  the Dutch 
are considering supporting this mission. On Sudan, Kloth said 
that Development Minister van Ardenne shares Washington's 
views about the fragile situation in Darfur and is troubled 
by the slow pace of implementing the North-South peace 
accord.  The Dutch pledged 30 million euros for humanitarian 
assistance this year for Darfur, with the possibility for 
more;  at Oslo, they pledged 170 million euros over three 
years for reconstruction, she recalled. 
 
8.  (C) Palm said that the DRC needed a push to approve the 
Constitution and start preparations for elections.  He added 
that the EU plans to send a disarmament mission at the end of 
April. 
 
9.  (C)  In Burundi, the EU wants the Parliament and 
Constitutional Court to approve the election plans of the 
Election Commission and hold elections "as soon as possible, 
even by the end of May,"  Palm said. 
 
RUSSIA 
 
10.  (C)  The Luxembourg Presidency will discuss the status 
of the "four common spaces" negotiations.  The GoNL expects 
them to be agreed by the May 10 Russia-EU summit, Palm said. 
JHA issues remain the most contentious.  The GoNL remains 
committed to concluding a "package deal" and would not 
welcome separating the "four common spaces" elements, he 
noted. 
 
BALKANS 
 
11.  (C)  Serbia and Montenegro:  The Commission will 
recommend starting discussions on a mandate for negotiating 
an association agreement with Serbia and Montenegro, a 
process they hope would help encourage the country to remain 
unified.  The GoNL wants Serbia and Montenegro to continue 
cooperating with the ICTY and notes a number of indictees 
remains at large despite recent success in bringing some to 
The Hague. 
 
12.  (C)  On Croatia, there will be a discussion on the 
margins of the Council between the Troika and Croatia, to 
review their cooperation with the Tribunal.  There will be a 
separate meeting between Carla del Ponte and the so-called 
"Group of 5," consisting of the Troika, Austria (2005 
Presidency), and the High Representative. 
 
TSUNAMI RESPONSE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
12.  (SBU)  The Commission will present a proposal for 
increasing the EU's reaction capability to disaster (focusing 
on elements other than consular affairs, such as logistics). 
The GoNL will urge the EU to build on existing structures and 
capabilities, not create new ones, Palm said.  They will urge 
closer cooperation with the U.N., as well.  Finally, the GoNL 
is concerned that donors have reason to be concerned that 
that nothing seems to be happening on the ground. The Dutch 
will call for a more accountable - and visible - use of 
donations. 
 
FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVES 
 
13. (C)  Arjen Lucas (MFA, European Integration Division) 
joined the discussion to review the status of the 2007-2013 
EU budget negotiations.  Lucas said that Spain, Italy and the 
EU 10 refer to the "group of 6" countries (Netherlands, 
Austria, France, UK, Sweden, Germany, that want to hold the 
budget line at 1 percent of GDP) as "greedy" for wanting to 
limit their national contributions to Brussels.  He said that 
Luxembourg is determined to conclude the negotiations in the 
first two weeks of June, when there is a narrow window of 
time between the series of referenda and elections (in 
France, UK, Germany, and the Netherlands) and the EU Council 
on June 16.  Lucas said the Luxembourg Presidency plans to 
table new figures on June 2 but he doubted they would succeed 
and cut a deal in two weeks. 
 
14.  (C)  On the expenditure side of the budget, Lucas 
explained that there is a 200 billion euro spread between 
what the "group of 6" want - 815 billion euro, and what the 
rest want - 1.026 trillion euro.  Resolving differences over 
the cohesion policy remains the hardest problem, with Spain 
most concerned about losing development funds.  Finally, on 
the income side, the UK stands alone defending its rebate. 
The GoNL seeks a "generalized correction mechanism" to 
rationalize contributions, supported by Germany and Sweden, 
Lucas said.  If there is no budget deal this June, then the 
issue is likely to languish during both the UK and Austrian 
presidencies, Lucas predicted, as both would have much to 
lose under new budget negotiations. 
SOBEL