VZCZCXRO7802
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHTC #1376/01 2010553
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200553Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9857
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PRIORITY 0682
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY 0103
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV PRIORITY 0444
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 1733
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 2890
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA PRIORITY 0517
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI PRIORITY
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0818
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 4303
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA PRIORITY 0609

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001376 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UBI, EUR/ERA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AL ENRG ETRD ETTC EUN IR IS KPAL PGOV PREL
RS, SOCI, SR, SU, UP, XA, XF, XH, XW, YI, ZL 
SUBJECT: JULY GAERC PRE-BRIEF 
 
REF: SECSTATE 98749 
 
THE HAGUE 00001376  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Summary: The Dutch are concerned about the lack of 
progress and will press for a unified European approach on 
Kosovo.  They anticipate the upcoming Intergovernmental 
Conference (IGC) will be a formal ceremony without any 
substantive changes to the mandate text.  The Dutch may 
provide a limited support unit to the UN-AU mission in Sudan. 
They like the idea of the proposed detachment of an ESDP 
mission in Chad but remain concerned about its implications. 
On the CIA rendition flights issue, the Dutch will generally 
condemn the practice but remain skeptical about the 
allegations listed in the report by the Council of Europe 
without more concrete evidence. Foreign Minister Verhagen 
will make a brief statement as such. Poloff delivered reftel 
points July 18 to MFA Political Affairs Officer Jeroen 
Boender at the monthly pre-GAERC briefing for non-EU 
diplomatic missions.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. At the IGC, Boender said the Dutch do not expect more than 
a formal opening by the Portuguese presidency since the 
mandate has already been concluded and "merely" needs to be 
reformatted into a legal text. He suggested that negotiation 
will be much more low-key with each member state providing no 
more than three or four representatives. The October GAERC 
will present an interim report on its progress and the 
December European Council will present the final text. The EU 
hopes to have the new treaty fully ratified by June 2009. 
(Comment: The Dutch Council of State has already received a 
letter from Parliament requesting ratification of the IGC 
mandate. Usually ratification would be based on the treaty 
text but the mandate is already considered sufficiently 
detailed. End comment.) 
 
¶3. Boender briefed on external political affairs: 
 
Ukraine:  The Council will prepare for the September 14 
EU-Ukraine Summit in Kyiv, which is still planned to go 
forward despite parliamentary elections on September 30. The 
Dutch would like the EU to use the summit to stress the 
importance of free and fair elections, the need for 
constitutional reforms, and further strengthening of the rule 
of law. 
 
Sudan:  The Dutch appreciate the increased European support 
of this issue now that the French are paying more attention 
to it. The GONL announced in a July 13 letter in Parliament 
that they received a request by the UN Department of 
Peacekeeping Operations to contribute to the hybrid force. 
While it is still too early to tell, the Dutch are 
considering contributing to operations in the form of a 
support unit. However, any support will be modest given their 
current commitments in Afghanistan.  A potential deployment 
of an ESDP mission in Chad would be headed by the French. The 
Dutch believe such a mission could be important but worry 
that the ESDP mission might attract an extra flow of refugees 
into Chad or divert funds and troops from the main AU-UN 
mission. 
 
Western Balkans: Kosovo will be the major issue at this 
GAERC. The Dutch are concerned with the lack of progress and 
still think it is important to get a UN resolution because 
that would be "more civilized" and it is "important to save 
the prerogative of the UNSC."  Without a UNSC resolution, it 
also would be difficult to participate in a European 
operation in Kosovo which is anticipated to eventually take 
over after UNMIK leaves. At the GAERC, the Dutch will 
continue to plea for unity in the EU approach, supporting the 
Ahtisaari plan as the basis for the resolution. 
 
Middle East:  The Council will welcome Blair,s appointment 
as Envoy to the Quartet. The Dutch support President Bush,s 
suggestion to have an international conference but emphasize 
that such a conference cannot replace direct negotiations 
between Abbas and Olmert. The Dutch were displeased with the 
letter sent by EU member states making suggestions to Blair. 
They do not think that this approach is the way to build a 
common EU foreign policy. 
 
 
THE HAGUE 00001376  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Iran:  Solana will provide a briefing on the June 23 Lisbon 
meeting and might include a discussion of the recent IAEA 
visit. The Dutch position on Iran has not changed. They think 
it is important to maintain pressure but keep open the 
possibility of a diplomatic approach. They are also waiting 
to see what the UN has to say. 
 
Libya:  The Dutch are hopeful for a group transfer of medics 
to Bulgaria under the legal assistance angle. The Dutch feel 
connected to the case for having started the progress under 
the Dutch presidency in 2004, and for the fact that the 
family of the Palestinian doctor lives in the Netherlands. 
 
CIA rendition flights: Boender emphasized that a resolution 
in Parliament is forcing them to raise this in the EU 
framework.  The Dutch are uniformly against secret detention 
centers. However, while they consider the allegations to be 
very serious, they feel that the Council of Europe Report 
contained hearsay and circumstantial evidence. Foreign 
Minister Verhagen will keep his statement on the issue as 
brief as possible. 
 
UK agenda: The UK will ask for European support on the 
Litvenenko case and for attention regarding Zimbabwe in light 
of the planned EU-African summit in December. The Dutch do 
not want President Mugabe, who remains on the visa sanction 
list, to attend. Regardless of his attendance, they think it 
is important to discuss human rights issues in Zimbabwe at 
the summit. 
GALLAGHER