VZCZCXRO3022
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHBS #1130/01 0931317
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 031317Z APR 07 ZDK
FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001130 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/28/2017 
TAGS: PREL EUN ZL UN ICTY
SUBJECT: U.S.- EU WESTERN BALKANS TROIKA CONSULTATIONS 
 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Holly Schwendler for reasons 1.4 (b) & 
 (d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (C) EU Council, Commission, and member state officials 
told EUR/SCE Director Chris Hoh March 19-21 in Brussels that 
the EU is working hard to maintain member state unity in 
support of Ahtisaari's package and that an unambiguous UN 
Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) was vital to ensure the 
EU's ability to collectively engage with post-status Kosovo. 
Commission officials voiced their anxiety over Kosovo's lack 
of capacity for self-governance and lack of focus on 
post-independence policy initiatives. Interlocutors 
emphasized that the EU would resume Stabilization and 
Association Agreement (SAA) talks with Serbia as soon as a 
new government was in place that was committed to ICTY 
cooperation, democratic reform, and a European future. The EU 
shares U.S. concern about the political climate in Bosnia, 
and noted that initialing of the SAA remains on hold until 
progress is made on police reform, public broadcasting, and 
public administration. The Commission is encouraging Albania 
to find political consensus and deal with problems of 
corruption and organized crime. European interlocutors also 
noted Macedonia's failure to make progress on the EU's 
political criteria for accession. The EU is optimistic about 
Montenegro's future in Europe after the initialing of an SAA 
agreement in early March, although Commission officials 
observe that institutional capacity is still lacking. 
 
¶2. (U) Hoh reviewed Western Balkans issues with the EU Troika 
represented by German Balkans Director Emily Haber for the 
Presidency, Council Director for Western Balkans Stefan 
Lehne, and Commission official Dirk Lange who were joined by 
Portuguese Special Coordinator for the Balkans Ambassador 
Antonio Tanger in Brussels on March 20. He held private 
meetings with Lange and Lehne as well as Genoveva Ruiz 
Calavera and Therese Sobieski, who each head Commission units 
covering Kosovo and Serbia and Montenegro, respectively. Hoh 
also met with Helene Holm-Pedersen and Maria Asenius, members 
of Commissioner for Enlargement Rehn's cabinet, as well as 
other German Presidency officials. End Summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
Kosovo: Preparing for Status 
---------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Lehne stressed that the EU is working to ensure there 
is no divergence among EU member states in providing full 
support to the Ahtisaari package during the UN phase. Lehne 
underscored that an unambiguous UN Security Council 
Resolution (UNSCR) is necessary to provide the legal 
framework for future EU engagement and support to Kosovo. The 
worst case scenario for the EU, he argued, would be a 
drawn-out process yielding a vague UNSCR that "brings a 
resolution without a solution." Lehne and German Presidency 
officials argued separately to Hoh that the UNSCR, 
recognition, and implementation should take place before the 
Portuguese assumed the EU Presidency this summer because 
Portugal was not entirely prepared to handle the demands of 
the task. 
 
¶4. (C) Preparations for the International Civilian Office 
(ICO) and the ESDP Rule of Law Mission continue, and member 
states remain focused on the European perspective for Kosovo. 
Privately, however, Calavera told Hoh that she was 
pessimistic about Kosovo's capacity for self-governance and 
said that the Unity Government was entirely unfocused on 
governance issues and determining policy priorities, both of 
which will be essential to inform the EU's donor conference 
and subsequent project implementation. Compounding the 
problem is the lack of solid economic expertise in Pristina. 
Both Calavera and Holm-Pedersen argued that the U.S. and EU 
will need to put pressure on the IMF and World Bank to 
complete the Kosovo needs assessment which will be vital to 
determining priorities. 
 
¶5. (C) Hoh assured his interlocutors that the U.S. shared the 
EU's desire for a clear UNSCR and was working hard toward 
that end. He warned that implementation of the settlement 
will be difficult and it is essential that the U.S. and EU 
emphasize international commitment and engagement in Kosovo, 
especially to the areas outside Pristina where vulnerable 
populations will need reassurance. The U.S. and the EU must 
continue to deliver a solid message of unity and support for 
the Ahtisaari proposals and the process to those in the 
region as well as in Moscow. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Serbia: The Door Remains (Conditionally) Open 
 
BRUSSELS 00001130  002 OF 003 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Turning to Serbia, Hoh noted first the relatively 
positive news that Serbian parliamentary elections were 
conducted in a transparent and democratic fashion. However, 
no government has been formed and Serbia has made no progress 
toward realizing its European future. The U.S. welcomed 
recent EU statements that the door remains open to Serbia 
while striking a balance with maintaining war crimes 
conditionality before SAA negotiations can be concluded. Hoh 
argued that the U.S. and EU needed to work collectively on 
efforts to encourage Belgrade along the right path, 
particularly against the backdrop of the Kosovo status 
settlement, while making sure to guard against the appearance 
of Belgrade's "selling Kosovo." 
 
¶7. (C) Haber expressed broad agreement with all of the U.S. 
points and underscored the EU's desire to soon see a new 
government in Belgrade focused on reform, war crimes 
cooperation, and a European future. She emphasized that the 
EU is ready to resume SAA negotiations when a committed 
government is in place. Commission officials outlined the 
specific conditions under which the Commission will re-engage 
Serbia. First, the government needs to be clearly committed 
to ICTY cooperation with transparent coordination among 
agencies on the issue. The EU will look for solid 
arrangements with the Prosecutor's office and will continue 
to monitor progress throughout the negotiations. Finally, 
full compliance -- the arrest of Mladic -- will be necessary 
for member states to conclude negotiations. The Commission 
aims to conclude visa facilitation negotiations (which are 
proceeding on a separate track) with Belgrade soon. 
 
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BiH: No Signs of Reform 
----------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Haber expressed the EU's concern over the lack of 
reform in Bosnia and said that initialing of the SAA 
agreement will remain on hold until progress is made in the 
areas of police, public broadcasting, and public 
administration. BiH will also have to demonstrate full ICTY 
cooperation. (Lange noted that the EU will rely on ICTY 
Prosecutor del Ponte's assessment of BiH compliance.) 
Constitutional reform is not a precondition for SAA and, in 
the EU's view, Bosnia should take ownership of this task 
themselves. Haber went on to lament Silajdzic's unhelpful 
attitude and the broader negative effects of the ICJ verdict 
on the political climate in Sarajevo; Republika Srpska needed 
to publicly acknowledge the verdict. She emphasized that the 
international community should speak with one voice on all 
these issues, while Lange worried that the February PIC 
decision to extend OHR at the same time as EUFOR was 
restructuring its presence sent mixed messages. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Hoh underscored U.S. willingness to work with EU 
partners on pushing reforms and agreed that the international 
community needed to coordinate its messages. The U.S. and EU 
should reinforce their positive agenda -- the development of 
a functioning rule of law system -- rather than continuing to 
deliver only negative messages. On constitutional reform, Hoh 
said that Bosnian politicians should look at the first 
package as the logical next step. The U.S. is waiting for a 
signal that the new government wants to move forward, but has 
not yet seen any indication. 
 
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Albania: Politics Hindering Progress 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶10. (C) Lange said that Commissioner Rehn delivered a strong 
message to the government on his recent trip to Albania, 
emphasizing that the parties needed to look for consensus in 
finding a Presidential candidate so as to avoid new 
elections. Smooth elections would enable the government to 
turn to dealing with organized crime and corruption and 
building the infrastructure necessary for economic 
development. According to Asenius, Rehn is privately 
optimistic about the elections and the potential for 
improvement in the political climate. During the Troika 
gathering, Tanger noted the need for international community 
engagement and pressure on the Albanians to focus on reform. 
Hoh emphasized that the recent elections were an advance over 
past polls. Good U.S.-EU cooperation on the ground has helped 
in delivering messages to Tirana. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Macedonia: Pessimism on EU Accession Prospects 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11. (SBU) Tanger took a slightly more negative view of 
developments in Macedonia than other EU interlocutors, saying 
 
BRUSSELS 00001130  003 OF 003 
 
 
that the political protagonists' lack of experience has 
resulted in increased tension between the government and 
opposition, and that the situation was deteriorating. Hoh 
argued, however, that some initiative has been taken to 
re-launch political dialogue in Macedonia, and the outlook 
may improve. Referring to Rehn's public criticism of 
Macedonia's failure to make progress on meeting the EU's 
political criteria for accession, Hoh said that the U.S. 
privately reinforced the same message to Skopje, noting that 
NATO accession could also be in jeopardy if better efforts 
were not made. Asenius confirmed that the Commission was 
unlikely to set a date for EU accession this autumn as 
initially hoped. Both sides agreed that the U.S. and EU 
should cooperate in pushing back against the return to 
Macedonia of four ICTY cases with which the judicial system 
is not prepared to cope. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Montenegro: Following the Euro-Atlantic Path 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) The outlook for Montenegro was positive, according 
to Tanger, given recently-held free and fair elections and 
initialing of the SAA agreement in early March. Pursuing the 
European path was the most effective way to resolve 
differences between pro-Serb and pro-Montenegro independence 
communities. Tanger welcomed U.S. cooperation in calling for 
a stronger rule of law regime and increases in institutional 
capacity, as well as more transparency in fighting organized 
crime and corruption. Hoh noted that the SAA was likely to 
have positive spillover effects in the regon and expressed 
U.S. interest in working together with the EU to increase 
transparency. Sobieski said that while Montenegro has been 
proactive in making the changes necessary to accede to the 
acquis, institutional capacity is still lacking and the 
government is finding it hard to determine priorities without 
steering from the Commission. 
 
¶13. (U) EUR/SCE Hoh has cleared this cable. 
 
MCKINLEY 
.