UNCLAS HELSINKI 000063
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
EUR/ERA FOR DANIEL WESTFIELD, EUR/NB FOR MIGUEL RODRIGUES
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL, EUN, PGOV, FI
SUBJECT: FINLAND COMMENTS ON FEBRUARY 23-24 GAERC
REF: FEBRUARY 12 2009 EMAIL
1. Summary: PolOff met with Markku Lampinen, Finnish MFA
Deputy European Correspondent on February 20 in advance of
the GAERC. Lampinen said that the main topics this month
will be Afghanistan and the Middle East. This GAERC
represents the first discussion of the Eastern Partnership
Initiative and therefore, it will be a preparatory discussion
for the next GAERC and the EU Council Summit. The Foreign
Ministers may discuss Sudan in particular if the ICC issues
an arrest warrant for President Bashir; if so, Lampinen said
the Foreign Ministers would likely present a common EU
position. Lampinen expects the Western Balkans discussion to
center around the High Representative appointment. The GAERC
will comment on Sri Lanka and Iraq as "A" items, which have
already been concluded and will not be discussed. End Summary.
2. (SBU) Afghanistan: Lampinen listed three key issues on
Afghanistan that will be discussed on Monday (February 23):
(1) reinforcing EUPOL civilian crisis operations; (2) an EU
political commitment message; and (3) support for Afghan
presidential elections in August. Lampinen commented that
EUPOL has had problems with a constant lack of personnel and
EU will try to find a fix by the end of the summer to ensure
operations continued credibility. He noted that Government
of Finland (GoF) contributes more than 800,000 euro to EUPOL
operations and plans to double the experts involved to 16 or
18. He stated that the expert compensation offered has
failed to exceed local earnings making it unrewarding for
Finns to volunteer. GoF agrees that August elections are a
critical event and is sending a temporary 100 troop increase.
Lampinen remarked that the parliamentary elections next year
must be well organized and go smoothly to increase Afghan
ownership of a lasting political solution. He agreed that
broader regional cooperation, including with Pakistan, is
necessary for to stabilize Afghanistan. He said that
conclusions on Afghanistan are expected in March. Separately,
Lampinen commented that the new Afghan Minister of Interior
is contributing to better relations.
3. (SBU) Gaza: Lampinen felt Gaza and the Middle East will
be the second major topic, now post-Gaza and post-Israeli
elections. He said that they will encourage the new Israeli
government to commit to peace from the beginning, noting that
one of the biggest obstacles is the settlements in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem. They will support Egyptian-led
efforts to mediate. Finnish Foreign Minister Stubb will
participate in the humanitarian conference March 2. Lampinen
commented that the EU's basic positions agree with those of
the US, though he noted that Stubb has previously hoped for
the inclusion of Hamas in the peace process. Lastly,
investigation into breaches of humanitarian law in the Gaza
conflict could come up. Lampinen does not expect conclusions
from the Middle East discussion.
4. (SBU) Eastern Partnership Initiative (EaP) and Western
Balkans: On the EaP, Lampinen said that the GoF supports the
commission's proposals to (1) strengthen sovereignty of the
Eastern partner countries; (2) encourage internal reforms in
those countries and; (3) engage on an EU relationship
provided the countries are interested. He said that the GoF
position is that the EU financing to partner countries should
not diminish the EU funding of existing border projects like
Cross-Border Cooperation within the European Neighborhood and
Partnership Instrument (CBC). The Western Balkans agenda may
include the military crisis operation in Bosnia, which the
GoF would like to see transformed into a training and support
mission. (Note: GoF plans to withdraw most of its troops in
Bosnia by June, leaving only 10. End note.) He did not expect
the ministers to address the question of Montenegro's EU
membership on Monday. Regarding ICTY, he noted, the EU
Council may send its own delegation to evaluate Serbian
cooperation. Lampinen felt Sir Emyr Jones Parry was most
likely to be appointed High Representative.
5. (SBU) Sudan, Sri Lanka and Iraq: The discussion on Sudan
depends on whether the ICC issues an arrest warrant for
President Bashir before Monday. If the ICC issues the
warrant, Foreign Ministers would likely present a common EU
position. Lampinen noted the importance of continuing the
peace process, UN operations and maintaining contact with the
Sudanese government regardless. On Sri Lanka, he said that
the EU will demand an immediate cease-fire, access to deliver
humanitarian aid and safe exit from the conflict for
civilians; the EU will demand that the Sri Lankan government
and the Tamil Tigers respect international humanitarian law;
and the EU will demand that the Tamil Tigers give up
terrorism and violence. He further noted that a political
solution is indispensable in creating sustainable peace in
Sri Lanka and they would appeal for human rights and press
freedoms there. Lampinen said that the EU will congratulate
Iraq on successful local elections and thank UNAMI for its
support and contributions. They will recognize the
importance of elections to Iraqi national reconciliation and
the EU will commit to continued support for the Iraqi
election process. Lampinen said that the GoF's position is
that the EU's aim should be internal stabilization of Iraq
and normalization of its relations with its neighbors.
BUTLER