VZCZCXRO0853
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHC #5635/01 3312152
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 262145Z NOV 08
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 8356
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS PRIORITY 2236
RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA PRIORITY 5875
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0908
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1960
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE PRIORITY 9194
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 6362
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW PRIORITY 2455
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
INFO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 7765

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 125635 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN PREL PGOV BM EU
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST - WORKING WITH THE EU TO IMPROVE 
BURMA SANCTIONS REGIME 
 
¶1. (SBU) Action Request: The European Union is in the process 
of restructuring one of its target lists of Burmese names and 
entities that are subject to sanctions in the EU.  The U.S. 
supports the EU's efforts to make its sanctions more 
effective.  Experts from State, Justice, and Treasury's 
Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) met with Commission 
officials in October and OFAC agreed to share suggestions on 
possible methods of improving the EU's Burma Sanctions 
regime.  USEU is requested to share the OFAC paper with 
appropriate EU institutions and Brussels-based stakeholders. 
The OFAC paper may be downloaded from the classified Intranet 
at www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki by searching for "2008 OFAC 
Paper-EU Burma Sanctions".  All other Action posts are 
requested to inform host governments of U.S. desire to 
maintain strong cooperation on Burma and our cooperative 
effort with the Commission, and may share the OFAC paper at 
their discretion.  Posts should reach out to geographic and 
sanctions-specific authorities at Ministries of Foreign 
Affairs, Finance and Trade.  If you have questions 
difficulties downloading the paper, please contact EUR/ERA 
Ben Rockwell, EEB/ESC/TFS John Marshall Klein, or EAP/MLS 
Laura Scheibe. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Background:  The European Union maintains a robust 
sanctions regime against Burma's military junta, including a 
travel ban on top officials, an arms embargo and a freeze on 
the junta's assets in Europe.  In 2007, the EU expanded 
sanctions to include an embargo on imports of gemstones, 
timber and metal, and a wider visa ban.  In the course of 
implementing these additional sanctions, the EU identified 
problems with the nature and composition of its targeted 
lists.  The EU is now in the process of addressing these 
problems, and EU and Presidency officials have expressed 
openness to working with the U.S. to ensure the sanctions 
regime maintains its effectiveness.  The EU's November 10 
General Affairs Council adopted conclusions deploring Burma's 
lack of progress toward democracy and signaling willingness 
to "revise, amend, or reinforce" EU measures as warranted. 
The EU Council must reauthorize the existing sanctions 
program before it expires on April 30, 2009.  EU External 
Relations Counselors will begin discussing a position in the 
coming days. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Begin Talking Points for Demarche on EU Burma 
Sanctions: 
 
-- We believe it is important to maintain a united, strong 
front on Burma.  The regime continues to demonstrate its 
disregard for its people through increased arrests and by 
handing down long prison sentences.  We believe it is 
important to keep up the international pressure on the regime. 
 
-- We regret that the Burmese have refused to deal 
constructively with the UN, including UN Special Advisor 
Ibrahim Gambari.  There has been talk of a visit to Burma by 
UN Secretary General Ban, something we feel should only 
happen if there are concrete achievements by the Government 
of Burma. 
 
-- We understand that the EU is in the process of 
restructuring one of its target lists of Burmese names and 
entities subject to sanctions.  We support the EU's efforts 
to make international sanctions against Burma more effective 
and would welcome the opportunity to work together towards 
that outcome.  We are concerned, however, that the optics and 
political message of certain potential changes (for example, 
deleting entire target lists without other changes) could be 
interpreted as a weakening of the EU's stance on the Burmese 
regime. 
 
-- As you undertake the complex and technical process of 
updating EU sanctions, we would like to provide some ideas 
for options.  As follow-up to our meetings in recent months, 
we are providing an updated paper prepared by the U.S. Office 
of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regarding possible technical 
changes to EU Burma measures. 
 
 
STATE 00125635  002 OF 002 
 
 
POINT FOR USEU 
 
-- U.S. experts are prepared to address these issues further 
if you so wish.  The U.S. Mission to the EU would be happy to 
facilitate a Digital Video Conference if you would find this 
beneficial. 
 
END TALKING POINTS 
RICE