VZCZCXRO6513
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0220/01 0650737
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060737Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7376
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000220 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EU HR REGIONAL ISSUES
SUBJECT:  SEECP FOREIGN MINISTERS MOVE POSITIVELY ON STABILITY PACT 
TRANSITION 
 
Ref:  A) Zagreb 202 
B) Brussels 194 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and comment:  The March 2 SEECP Foreign Ministers 
meeting in Zagreb saw positive movement on the Stability Pact 
transition process to a new SEECP-led regional cooperation 
framework.  The Ministers approved a methodology for selecting both 
the new Secretary General and the location of the proposed Regional 
Cooperation Council (RCC).  SEECP PolDirs will meet again later in 
March in tandem with the joint Stability Pact-SEECP Institutional 
Working Group (IWG) to hash out details of the RCC founding charter 
and to continue preparations for reviewing the prospective nominees 
for the RCC location and SG position.  Final recommended texts will 
be ready by the time the Stability Pact Regional Table and SEECP 
Foreign Ministers meet on May 10 in Zagreb, followed by final 
confirmation by the SEECP Prime Ministers on May 11. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Early maneuvering on the RCC SG nomination has begun, with 
Croatian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Biscevic informally 
measuring support for his own candidacy.  Former Serbia Foreign 
Minister Goran Svilanovic still lacks Belgrade's support for the 
nomination, although Special Coordinator Busek and European 
Commission officials reportedly will press the GOS to support him. 
Sarajevo remains the clear favorite for the secretariat location, 
with open support from Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Moldova thus far. 
On Kosovo, a strident Albanian FM Mustafaj blocked consensus in the 
FMs' joint statement, despite efforts to persuade him to accept 
language which fully reflected UNSCR 1244 and Contact Group 
Principles on Kosovo.  Moldovan Foreign Minister Stratan announced 
Moldova's candidacy for SEECP CiO in mid-2008, following Bulgaria; 
Moldova's lack of a clear EU and NATO track, and its limited 
capacity for leading the RCC at its formative stage, will not 
bolster its bid.  End summary and comment. 
 
Agreement on the process 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) The SEECP FM meeting officially launched the process of 
creating the new Regional Cooperation Council by establishing the 
methodology for nominating candidates for the SecGen and secretariat 
location.  The Institutional Working Group (IWG), co-chaired by 
Stability Pact Deputy Special Coordinator Mozur and Croatian 
Ambassador Grigic representing the SEECP CiO, met on February 26 in 
Brussels to iron out the details on the SecGen mandate and the 
requirements and procedure for determining the site of the RCC 
secretariat.  Subsequently, on February 28 in Zagreb, Grigic chaired 
 
SIPDIS 
the SEECP PolDirs discussion on the draft SG mandate and site 
requirements, initially presenting independent Croatian MFA texts 
but eventually accepting the IWG documents as the basis for 
discussion.  With this shift in strategy, and with Biscevic in the 
chair the next day, the process proceeded smoothly and the PolDirs 
produced texts for both issues that were fully consistent with IWG 
proposals and that were adopted without change by the FMs on March 
¶2. 
 
¶4. (U) RCC SecGen:  The key points of the SecGen mandate include the 
need for the successful candidate to be a strong political figure, 
ideally with experience with regional cooperation, who is able to 
deal effectively with senior government officials "at the highest 
appropriate" level as well as with international financial 
institutions, donors, and private sector.  Formal nominations should 
be submitted by March 31, with a three-week period of PolDir 
consultations with key donors to follow.   PolDirs would then make a 
consolidated recommendation to Foreign Ministers by April 30, with 
FMs deciding the nomination on May 10 and PMs confirming the 
decision at their May 11 summit.  The SecGen would serve an initial 
three-year term with a possible two-year extension.  The European 
Commission reiterated its commitment to ensure an early start by the 
nominee by promising to fund a transitional SecGen contract for the 
months leading up to the formal establishment of the RCC 
secretariat, with the contract to start possibly as early as June, 
 
SIPDIS 
or a month after the May 11 SEECP Prime Ministers meeting in 
Zagreb. 
 
¶5. (U) RCC Location: The basic parameters agreed were the logistical 
requirements for adequate modern office space for a staff of perhaps 
20-25 people and an appropriate site agreement to give the 
secretariat legal personality in the hosting country.  Given the 
 
SIPDIS 
clear difficulties in meeting Belgian laws and regulations for 
founding the proposed Brussels liaison office, the IWG will likely 
convene a legal working group to address the legal complexities 
inherent in both the regional and Brussels operations. 
 
Unexpected Albanian Objection to Kosovo language 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6. (U) Drafting the joint statement was on track until discussion 
addressed the Kosovo status issue.  Albanian rep Lauka opened with a 
 
ZAGREB 00000220  002 OF 002 
 
 
tough line, arguing that a short statement focused on the Ahtisaari 
process sufficed, or if UNSCR 1244 was to be cited, it needed to be 
accompanied by a language citing the majority will of the Kosovo 
people.  Serbian PolDir Sahovic countered with an effort to cite the 
SEECP Charter's language of the inviolability of borders.  After 
much discussion, a near consensus text evolved citing UNSCR 1244, 
Contact Group principles, the SEECP Charter, and the Ahtisaari 
process as the basis for Kosovo status discussions. 
 
¶7. (SBU) At the FMs meeting, however, Albanian FM Mustafaj 
reiterated the tough line laid out the previous day, arguing that 
UNSCR 1244 was old, irrelevant history, which could only be 
mentioned if accompanied by language citing the determining role of 
the majority, will of the Kosovo people.  Serbian FM Draskovic 
countered with his basic Kosovo speech, challenging the group on its 
responsibility for endangering the security of all in the region 
should Kosovo status be pursued at the cost of Serbian humiliation, 
which he claimed underlay Kosovar intentions.  Croatian FM Grabar 
Kitarovic eventually offered Mustafaj the option of agreeing to let 
the text include a footnote indicating that all but one of the ten 
delegations had joined consensus on this point (article 9). 
Mustafaj agreed, to the clear disappointment of the other FMs.  DSC 
Mozur spoke to Mustafaj afterwards and found him at ease with the 
outcome, although other participants remained perplexed by the 
Albanian position and logic, and disappointed that the SEECP joint 
statement did not have the region standing together. 
 
Foreign Ministers react politely to Moldova's offer 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) The FMs' tour de table speeches uniformly highlighted the 
good feeling surrounding the launch of the RCC and regional 
ownership process, and offered a venue for statements urging a 
steady move ahead to resolve Kosovo status.  Bulgarian Deputy 
Foreign Minister Kyuchukov staked out the principle that the first 
RCC SecGen should not be from an EU member country of the SEECP, and 
indicated that Bulgaria had decided not to submit a name.  The 
request by Moldovan Foreign Minister Stratan to take the SEECP CiO 
lead after Bulgaria in May 2008 was politely acknowledged.  (Note: 
Macedonia would appear to be a likely successor to Bulgaria given 
its turn in the SEECP's loose rotation, while some participants 
suggested privately that Serbia might step into the role, with 
Moldova coming a year later in 2009.) 
 
BRADTKE