VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBS #1698/01 1421548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221548Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5440
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1570

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 001698 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM THE AMBASSADOR FOR SPEAKER PELOSI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SENV BE
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SPEAKER PELOSI'S MAY 30 MEETING 
WITH BELGIAN PM VERHOFSTADT 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Your meeting with Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt 
is more than a courtesy call with a close friend of the 
United States.  Prime Minister Verhofstadt, who will be 
entering the home stretch of a tough reelection battle, wants 
to learn more about your thinking on environmental issues and 
to provide you with a working politician's view of how green 
politics are playing in Europe.  Your meeting also offers an 
opportunity to talk about key transatlantic security issues 
including relations with Russia and Afghanistan, where we are 
pressing Belgium to send additional troops and to lift tight 
restrictions limiting their exposure to combat operations. 
If time permits, you can expect the Prime Minister to raise 
African affairs with you -- Belgium wants us to do more in 
Central Africa including, of course, the Democratic Republic 
of Congo.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
U.S. Ties with Belgium -- Good and getting Better 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2. (U) Prime Minister Verhofstadt has played an instrumental 
role in turning U.S.-Belgian relations around since the low 
point of spring 2003.  In addition to making good on a pledge 
to end the law on "Universal Competence" (which opened the 
door to politicized legal action against U.S. officials), his 
administration provided critical logistical support to the 
U.S. after Hurricane Katrina hit.  In terms of foreign 
policy, he has been a vocal critic of Iranian nuclear 
ambitions, a strong supporter of the China arms embargo, and 
a steady promoter of democratic aspirations in Eastern 
Europe, the Caucuses, and Central Asia.  He was one of the 
first and remains today one of the loudest suporters of 
Turkey's dream of entering the EU. 
 
¶3. (U) Despite the opposition of his Socialit coalition 
partners, Verhofstadt has maintaied Belgium's modest 
military presence in Afghanistan, where Belgian troops 
presently oversee security at Kabul airport and take part in 
a German-led provincial reconstruction team.  The U.S. 
administration also has been pleased with his willingness to 
grant limited and largely civilian assistance to Iraq while 
muting public criticism of the U.S.  We also have been 
gratified by Belgium's active role in the current UN 
peacekeeping operation in Lebanon. 
 
 
---------------------- 
A Tough Election Fight 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Your visit occurs at a worrying time for the Prime 
Minister.  With national elections set for June 10, he has 
strong reason to fear losing his job in an election that 
largely concerns parochial local issues.  His Flemish Liberal 
party is lagging in the polls and could, according to 
projections, lose around one-third of his seats.  The same 
polls project a victory for a coalition including the 
Christian Democrats, Belgium's traditional governing party. 
The Christian Democrats have been out of power since 
Verhofstadt's party defeated them in 1999.  Local observers 
are not counting Verhofstadt out, however; he is a skilled 
campaigner who could easily ignite a sudden wave of support 
in the 52 percent of the electorate who have yet to make up 
their minds. 
 
---------------------------- 
Verhofstadt's Green Politics 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Prime Minister hopes his renewed commitment to 
environmentalism will help him seal the deal with the voters. 
Having included Belgium's two green parties in his first 
coalition government in 1999 but dumped them in 2003, 
Verhofstadt has some fences to mend but is seen as 
sympathetic to environmental concerns.  He has polished his 
environmentalist credentials by meeting with Al Gore (in 
Brussels this spring his film) and by proposing measures to 
combat climate change.  Although Belgium is committed to 
reducing its CO2 emissions by 7.5 percent below 1990 levels 
under the Kyoto Protocol, 2005 data project it falling far 
short of that goal.  Verhofstadt is proposing additional 
measures (and emission credit purchases) to put Belgium 
nearer its goal.  By attracting green voters, the Prime 
Minister will also keep them from backing the socialist party 
) his chief rival though partner in the present coalition 
government.  Under Belgium's federal structure the regions 
are responsible for environmental policy, so Verhofstadt's 
role is limited to tax measures and energy regulations. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Aside from climate change, the other key 
environmental issue in this election is whether Belgium will 
retain its policy to start decommissioning its nuclear power 
plants in 2015.  This commitment, made when the green parties 
were in the 1999-2003 coalition government, does not square 
with the reality that 56 percent of Belgium's electricity 
comes from nuclear generation.  No alternatives have been 
agreed upon, and replacing it with fossil-fuel power plants 
would massively increase the country's CO2 output.  Liberal 
and Christian Democrat parties are willing to extend use of 
the existing facilities while "new generation" power plants 
are developed; other parties won't commit.  This is a hot 
potato issue during the election period. 
 
------------ 
What We Want 
------------ 
 
¶6. (U) The primary U.S. goal in Belgium is maintaining the 
country's commitment to fighting terrorism.  We are achieving 
excellent results in this area, in which we were helped by 
the news that two Belgians were killed in Iraq while 
attempting to launch a suicide bomb attack against American 
forces.  Second, we are seeking increased cooperation in 
places like Afghanistan, where Belgian forces operate on a 
tight leash held by the Defense Minister here in Brussels.  A 
greater willingness to take risks there will help the broader 
international effort.  Third, on the environmental front, we 
want Belgium to spend more on innovation to help address 
global warming.  If the EU has stressed controlling emissions 
and the U.S. has focused mostly on energy research over the 
past decade, we are coming to meet in the middle.  Belgium is 
a good example of where new technologies will be essential to 
achieving both economic growth and environmental protection. 
Deeper EU commitment to clean energy technology could help 
find the innovations needed by our countries and the 
developing world.  Fox 
.