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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