VZCZCXRO8149
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHTC #0137/01 0451303
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141303Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1064
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 0627

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 000137 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/ERA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EU NL
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/GAERC: DUTCH VIEWS ON BALKANS, BURMA, 
AFRICA 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Kosovo's imminent declaration of 
independence dominated the GONL briefing in preparation for 
the February 18 GAERC.  Dutch MFA Deputy EU Correspondent 
Rochus Pronk briefed allies February 13 on Dutch views 
regarding Kosovo, Serbia and SAA, Burma, Africa, the Middle 
East, Iran, the European Neighborhood Policy, and the 
Economic Partnership Agreement.  End summary. 
 
KOSOVO 
------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Pronk said most are speculating that February 17 
will be the declaration of independence (DI), and suggested 
the EU was taking a "wait and see approach."  He said the 
Presidency is currently working on a formula or statement -- 
a "platform" -- that will take into account all national 
positions and procedures, and therefore allowing EU member 
states to recognize once they are able. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Pronk said the Dutch will not be one of the first to 
recognize, noting that the Dutch still have concerns 
regarding the declaration and constitution, as well as how 
the Kosovar government implements measures to protect ethnic 
minorities "on the ground."  He acknowledged that a prolonged 
examination of how minorities were treated was not 
sustainable.  In essence, the Dutch intend to look at how 
closely the declaration and constitution match the Ahtisaari 
Plan, coupled with the first few weeks of how minorities are 
treated by the Kosovar authorities prior to any recognition, 
Pronk said. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Pronk said the last document likely to be adopted by 
the EU on Kosovo is the operational plan, which will allow 
for the deployment of the ESDP mission following a DI -- this 
document will be on the GAERC agenda.  He noted that KFOR 
will remain in Kosovo, which is extremely important from the 
Dutch perspective to ensure the stability of Kosovo following 
a DI. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Pronk acknowledged that the Dutch recognition 
process will be time-consuming.  Following approval by the 
Council of the Kingdom, the Queen, and the Council of 
Ministers, the GONL will inform the Dutch Parliament of its 
decision.  Pronk expected a contentious debate in parliament, 
especially as many parliamentarians have been examining the 
legal basis of an independence declaration.  In that regard, 
the GONL hoped to obtain broad parliamentary support for its 
decision -- which has yet to be decided.  FM Verhagen will 
appear before Parliament February 14 to discuss Kosovo. 
 
SERBIA 
------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Pronk said the EU political dialogue agreement with 
Serbia remains "on the table," but has not been signed due to 
the political crisis in Belgrade.  He noted that the 
disparate parties in Belgrade appear to have found a 
temporarily common focus point with regard to the impending 
Kosovar DI, but these political processes must "play out." 
He also suggested that Serbian leadership would likely have 
responded in the same fashion to SAA as it did to the 
political dialogue agreement, which would have proven 
"embarrassing" for the EU if SAA had been offered and 
momentarily ignored -- from that perspective, it was 
reassuring to know that the Dutch had not been "proven 
wrong," Pronk said. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Regarding the Dutch insistence on ICTY 
conditionality, Pronk said the GONL still does not understand 
how it became isolated on this issue; "surely, other member 
states recognize the atrocities Mladic and Karadzic have 
committed."  He emphasized that much attention has been 
placed on getting Mladic to The Hague, perhaps because Mladic 
was viewed as the "easier of the two" to capture. 
Nevertheless, Karadzic's apprehension also remains important 
from the Dutch perspective. 
 
BURMA 
----- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Pronk noted that the Netherlands, the UK, and 
Ireland had placed Burma on the GAERC agenda.  He did not 
expect much discussion on Burma, except perhaps continued 
support of EU sanctions.  Pronk noted that the upcoming 
referendum and elections in 2010 would be meaningless if the 
opposition was not allowed to participate.  The GONL believes 
 
THE HAGUE 00000137  002 OF 002 
 
 
UN SYG Ban Ki-Moon should travel to Burma as soon as possible. 
 
AFRICA 
------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Pronk said the Dutch are very concerned about Kenya, 
and support the efforts of former UN SYG Koffi Annan.  Pronk 
noted that Dutch Development Minister Bert Koenders had 
recently visited Kenya, and had pledged 150,000 euros to 
Annan's secretariat, and another one million euros to assist 
internally displaced persons (IDPs).  Pronk said the EU is 
not ready to impose visa restrictions similar to ones imposed 
by the USG, but added that if Annan felt such restrictions 
were warranted, then the EU should take a "hard look at 
them," as well. 
 
¶10. (SBU) On Chad, Pronk noted the "worrisome developments," 
but added that the deployment of the EUFOR mission to Chad 
has resumed.  He said the early deployment of EUFOR is 
essential, especially in terms of finding a regional 
solution.  In that respect, Pronk noted that Sudan was not on 
the agenda, but could not imagine a discussion on Chad 
without also discussing Sudan.  He said the Dutch were still 
examining possible ways to contribute toward the EUFOR 
mission to Chad. 
 
MIDDLE EAST 
----------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Pronk expected a brief discussion on the Middle 
East, and noted that Dutch FM Verhagen had just returned from 
the region.  While Pronk expected no new developments during 
the GAERC, he reiterated that Verhagen had returned 
enthusiastic regarding prospects for carrying out the 
Annapolis process. 
 
IRAN 
---- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Pronk suggested the Council will not spend much 
time on Iran, especially as prospects for a third round of UN 
sanctions "look promising."  He noted that the EU would 
prefer the UN take the lead on Iran, with the EU offering 
support once new sanctions are announced. 
 
ENP 
--- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Pronk said the GONL supports the Commission's 
conclusions regarding reinforcing the European Neighborhood 
Policy (ENP), but added that differentiation is important 
with the ENP -- "one size should not fit all."  He said the 
GONL welcomes efforts by Israel, Ukraine, and Morocco to 
strengthen their relationships with the EU, but was clear 
this should not be confused as a possible "stepping stone" 
toward EU membership -- "these are separate and distinct." 
 
EPA 
--- 
 
¶14. (SBU) The GONL supports the continuation of Economic 
Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations, but believes the 
Commission should realistically assess prospects for each 
region, including especially Central and West Africa.  The 
Dutch believe it is also important for Association of 
Caribbean States (ACS) countries to clearly articulate in 
what manner they wish to enter the EPA process. 
Gallagher