This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000207 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/ERA AND EUR/NB 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2015 
TAGS: PREL UP MD SR BK SU HR FI EUN EU GAERC
SUBJECT: FEBRUARY 21 GAERC: FINLAND RESPONSE 
 
REF: A. STATE 25111 
     ¶B. HELSINKI 186 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Earle I. Mack for reasons 1.4(B) and (D) 
 
¶1. (U) We delivered Ref A demarche to the Finnish MFA and the 
Prime Minister's Office on February 11.  In a February 16 
follow-up conversation with Kimmo Lahdevirta, Finnish EU 
Correspondent, Lahdevirta provided GoF views on the GAERC 
agenda and a preview of the issues the Finns want to raise 
during the President's visit to Brussels. 
 
The February 22 Meetings 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Given the division of responsibilities in the Finnish 
constitution -- President Tarja Halonen has authority for the 
nation's foreign policy, while Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen 
is responsible for EU affairs -- both Halonen and Vanhanen 
plan to attend the February 22 meeting with President Bush. 
They have agreed, however, that Halonen will speak for 
Finland.  Ref B reports the Ambassador's recent conversation 
with President Halonen, in which Halonen said a theme for her 
remarks in Brussels will be the need for close U.S./EU and 
transatlantic cooperation on all the emerging challenges of 
the 21st century, not just crisis management.  Lahdevirta 
said he also expects Halonen to touch on the situation in the 
Western Balkans, and the need for the EU to maintain 
conditionality.  Halonen will note that the EU is taking on 
more responsibility in the area, but will stress that 
continued U.S. involvement is critically important.  (Note: 
President Halonen made the latter point in her conversation 
with the Ambassador.) 
 
¶3. (C) Lahdevirta said FM Tuomioja assumes that in their 
parallel meeting with the Secretary, most of the Foreign 
Ministers will focus their remarks on the Middle East. 
Tuomioja, therefore, believes it would be useful for him to 
concentrate on other issues, such as Afghanistan, the global 
war on terrorism, and Darfur.  Lahdevirta said he expects 
Tuomioja to underline the need for the international 
community to combat terrorism and the proliferation of WMD, 
but to do so always in accordance with international law. 
Tuomioja may also make the case for referring any 
Darfur-related war crimes prosecutions to the ICC. 
Lahdevirta said the GoF hopes the U.S. will abstain on this 
matter, since none of the cases is likely to involve U.S. 
citizens.  We reiterated the U.S. view that the alternative 
approach of a UNSC-created court, administered by the UN and 
AU, is a good one on its merits and an efficient use of 
existing resources.  Lahdevirta said that in any case, 
Tuomioja will not force a "head-to-head battle" over this 
matter that would "spoil the mood" at Brussels. 
 
Iraq 
---- 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to Lahdevirta, the GoF understanding is 
that the EU police training mission will be launched shortly, 
with the first elements put into place in March and full 
operation by July.  Training will be carried out on the 
territory of the EU nations offering courses, although there 
will be a liaison office at the UK embassy in Baghdad.  Many 
or most EU nations will participate, although the details of 
who will provide what courses remain to be worked out.  The 
Finns do not have the resources to host a course themselves, 
but will contribute civilian rule-of-law experts and/or 
police instructors to another nation's course.  Lahdevirta 
confirmed that the ten police instructors Finland now 
provides on a national basis to the academy in Jordan will 
remain there as well. (Note:  In the conversation reported in 
Ref B, President Halonen seemed to suggest that Finland might 
agree to host some kind of police training on Finnish soil as 
a "complementary" way of participating in Iraqi 
reconstruction short of committing troops or trainers inside 
Iraq.) 
 
Western Balkans 
--------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Returning to the issue of conditionality, Lahdevirta 
argued that we must bear in mind that the Western Balkan 
nations are at different stages.  Although President Halonen 
will not go into this level of detail in her Brussels 
remarks, the GoF believes that all Western Balkan nations 
must be treated in the same way: Serbia and Montenegro 
"should not be treated more harshly than Croatia was at a 
similar stage in years past."  A Feasibility Study for 
Croatia began even though war crimes indictees had not all 
been surrendered.  On the other hand, the closer a country 
gets to the prospect of actual accession talks, he said, the 
more strictly conditionality should be applied.  Thus, the EU 
now must insist on delivery of Gotovina to the Hague before 
Croatia advances any further in the process. 
 
European Neighborhood Policy 
---------------------------- 
¶6. (C) Lahdevirta said the U.S. and EU cooperate well on 
these issues.  The GoF will make the point at the GAERC 
meeting (if the point needs to be made) that the EU must deal 
with Ukraine on its own -- not in the context of EU-Russian 
relations. 
 
Sudan/Darfur 
------------ 
 
¶7. (C) The Finns are worried, said Lahdevirta, by apparent AU 
resistance to including European experts in the African Union 
mission.  He acknowledged the AU's need to retain ownership 
of the effort, but it is equally important that the operation 
achieve results.  It does appear that the AU will accept the 
need for EU contribution to a police component. 
MACK