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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BRUSSELS 000401 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2019 
TAGS: MARR MOPS PREL XF XG XW ZJ ZL XD ZF EUN
SUBJECT: EU EMPHASIZES SUCCESS IN PSC PLUS 7 MEETING 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Christopher Murray for reasons 1.4 (b) 
 and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C//NF)  Summary:  At the March 17 Political and Security 
Committee (PSC) Plus 7 meeting organized by the Czech EU 
Presidency, representatives of Member States and the EU 
institutions generally gave high marks to EU-led civilian and 
military operations in Chad, the Gulf of Aden, Georgia, 
Kosovo, and Afghanistan.  While acknowledging challenges, 
such as Russian obstructionism in Georgia, Serb 
obstructionism in Kosovo, force generation difficulties for 
EUPOL Afghanistan, and resilient pirate groups in the Gulf of 
Aden, EU officials generally chose to see the &glass half 
full.8  Most third countries took the opportunity to 
congratulate the EU for its successes, to pledge personnel 
and financial contributions to the EU,s missions, and press 
the EU to hold to its commitments.  Turkey, on the other 
hand, reiterated well-known complaints about the EU,s 
treatment of Turkey and suggested that increased Turkish 
contributions to EU missions were subject to the EU opening 
up to Turkey.  Although Turkey made repeated reference to the 
&agreed framework8 for NATO-EU relations, concerns about 
Cyprus were not at the center of Turkish interventions. 
Instead, Turkey focused on the EU,s treatment of non-EU 
European Allies, Turkish hopes for high-level appointments in 
EULEX Kosovo, and Ankara,s desire to be consulted when the 
EU plans operations in geographic proximity to Turkey.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  On March 17, the Czech EU Presidency organized the 
second PSC Plus 7 meeting.  Initially an initiative of the 
French Presidency, the PSC Plus 7 is an informal format that 
brings together all non-EU NATO Allies as well as EU 
accession countries (United States, Canada, Turkey, Norway, 
Iceland, Croatia, and Macedonia).  The PSC Plus 7 supplements 
the official formats of PSC Plus 3 (non-EU European Allies 
Turkey, Norway, and Iceland) and PSC Plus 5 (PSC Plus 3 plus 
EU accession states Croatia and Macedonia).  The PSC Plus 7 
format allows NATO Allies and EU Member States to discuss the 
full range of ESDP operations, except the EU,s Operation 
ALTHEA in Bosnia, which is the only subject covered in 
NAC-PSC meetings. 
 
EUFOR Chad 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Claude-France Arnould, Director of Defense Issues 
in the EU Council Secretariat, said strong cooperation 
between the EU and UN and the decision of a number of Member 
States to &blue hat8 their forces had allowed the EU to 
turn over EUFOR,s responsibilities to MINURCAT without 
leaving a security vacuum, a claim echoed by the Deputy 
Director of the EU Military Staff, Spanish Rear Admiral 
Fernando Lista.  Arnould praised the EU for applying the 
comprehensive approach by coordinating military action with 
development assistance and diplomatic engagement.  She said 
the end of EUFOR Chad would not mean the end of EU engagement 
on the diplomatic, humanitarian, and development fronts. 
Lista said the EU had shown the ability to deploy a robust 
military force to a theater far from Europe, despite 
challenging terrain and logistical issues.  He called the 
operation &a military success8 because it created a safe, 
secure environment, worked well with MINURCAT, and resulted 
in a decline in violence in the area.  With the transition of 
EUFOR to the UN, the EU had completed its longest, largest 
military operation in Africa. 
 
¶4.  (C)  French PSC Ambassador Christine Roger echoed Arnould 
and Lista,s claims of success, while noting the &unusually 
high8 number of Member States that participated in the 
force.  She said the EU had paved the way for increased 
stability in the region and that the international community 
would now have to wait and see how the consequences of 
Sudanese President Bashir,s arrest warrant affect refugee 
flows.  She expressed confidence that the UN could deal with 
an influx of refugees from Sudan.  (Comment:  France, which 
pressed for the EU to deploy to Chad, has a particular 
interest in claiming political and military success for the 
operation.  End Comment.) 
 
 
BRUSSELS 00000401  002 OF 005 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  USEU Charge congratulated the EU on a successful 
operation and read excerpts from the Department's March 16 
press release.  Canada, Croatia, Norway, Ireland, and Italy 
also congratulated EUFOR for a successful operation.  Canada 
expressed its intention to provide financial assistance to 
the EU to assist in supporting the African Union peacekeeping 
exercise AMANI AFRICA in 2010.  Canada also said it was 
committed to cooperating with the EU on the assessment of 
African training Centers of Excellence in West Africa and on 
the coordination of capacity building for civilian police to 
participate in peace operations.  Croatia said it was pleased 
to contribute to the force, and that the Croatian 
reconnaissance team would remain with MINURCAT for six 
months.  Norway said plans for the deployment of a field 
hospital to MINURCAT to replace the Italian EUFOR hospital 
were proceeding as planned, a claim confirmed by Italy. 
Ireland expressed appreciation for the value added by non-EU 
force contributors. 
 
EUNAVFOR ATALANTA 
 
¶6.  (C)  Arnould led the discussion of the EU,s naval 
operation off the coast of Somalia, saying the operation was 
starting to see positive results, but that pirates still show 
the ability to attack far from the coast.  She said the 
recent agreement between the EU and Kenya would allow the EU 
to deliver captured pirates to Kenya for prosecution, and 
also announced a recent agreement in principle for the EU to 
provide security to UN shipping to support AMISOM.  She said 
the EU was seeking to increaseits coordination with other 
countries involve in counter-piracy and was at work on 
&cooperative frameworks8 with Russia, China, India, Saudi 
Arabia, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Yemen, and Egypt.  These 
frameworks include modalities for the exchange of 
information, coordination of movements, liaison with the 
EU,s Operational Headquarters, and possible sharing of 
tanker support for ships engaged in counter-piracy.  Arnould 
also praised the &strong cooperation8 between the EU and 
Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 and said the EU expects to 
cooperate closely with NATO when Standing NATO Maritime Group 
(SNMG) 1 begins counter-piracy operations.  Finally, she 
thanked Norway for agreeing to contribute a frigate to the 
operation. 
 
¶7.  (C)  Rear Admiral Lista said Operation ATALANTA currently 
consists of five ships, two maritime patrol aircraft, and 
approximately 1,000 personnel from twelve Member States.  He 
said escorts of World Food Program shipping had made it 
possible to feed four million Somalis.  The Maritime Security 
Centre website allowed the EU to communicate with and advise 
the merchant community. 
 
¶8.  (C)  The UK said the agreement with Kenya was a step 
forward and that coordination with all actors would be 
essential.  The UK also emphasized the need to help develop 
local capacity, especially criminal justice capacity, to 
allow for the successful prosecution of pirates.  Noting the 
difference between ground and naval operations, the UK said 
good weather would ironically make countering piracy more 
difficult, for it would allow the pirates to operate more 
easily. 
 
¶9.  (C)  Croatia said it was willing to contribute five naval 
officers to the EU,s headquarters, subject to parliamentary 
approval.  Canada said it would have a ship in the NATO force 
and that it supports coordination and information exchanges 
between NATO and the EU.  Spain said it had been contributing 
a patrol aircraft since the beginning of the operation and 
would send a frigate and support ship during its command of 
the Force Headquarters, which begins in a few weeks.  Norway 
said it would contribute a frigate to the EU force for six 
months beginning in August. 
 
¶10.  (C//NF)  Turkey intervened to emphasize its concerns 
about EU cooperation with non-EU European Allies.  While 
Turkey welcomed the informal PSC Plus 7 format, which allows 
Canada and the U.S. to participate, it prefers the official 
formats of PSC Plus 3 or PSC Plus 5 ) although the Turks 
emphasize that the PSC Plus 3 is their first preference. 
 
BRUSSELS 00000401  003 OF 005 
 
 
Turkey emphasized that its record of contributions bears 
witness to the value it can add, but that early, robust 
consultations between the EU and non-EU European Allies were 
critical.  Calling on the EU to implement fully the Nice 
Implementation Document from 2002, Turkey said the EU should 
consult with non-EU European Allies in advance of launching 
operations, especially when those operations would take place 
in the geographic proximity of Allies.  On piracy, Turkey 
referenced Turkish participation in the Contact Group and CTF 
151 and said coordination between all actors in the region 
was important.  On the margins of the meeting, a Turkish rep 
told PolOff that NATO-EU cooperation on counter-piracy would 
have to take place within &the agreed modalities.8 
 
¶11.  (C//NF)  Responding to the Turkish emphasis on PSC Plus 
3 meetings, the Czech Ambassador chairing the meeting said 
the PSC Plus 7 format is informal and does not replace the 
official formats, to which the Turkish Ambassador replied 
that a PSC Plus 3 meeting ) the format Turkey prefers to PSC 
Plus 5 ) had not happened for some time. (Comment:  A 
Canadian colleague noted the irony to PolOff that while 
Canada and the U.S. support greater EU-Turkey cooperation, 
Turkey prefers to meet with the PSC without North American 
participation.  End Comment.) 
 
EUMM Georgia 
 
¶12.  (C)  Kees Klompenhouwer, who leads the EU,s Civilian 
Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) unit, led the 
discussion of the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia, which he 
called a clear example of the EU,s commitment to conflict 
resolution and regional stability.  He said the EU,s 
response to the Georgian crisis showed its ability to react 
rapidly and strongly, and that EUMM Georgia was successfully 
implementing its mandate.  The mission had recently rebutted 
Russian allegations about Georgian military movements, and a 
new Memorandum of Understanding with Georgia would provide 
further transparency on Georgian military actions.  The 
agreement in Geneva to establish an incident response and 
prevention mechanism was important, but needs diplomatic 
follow-up.  He acknowledged that EU monitors do not have 
access to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but said the EU is 
ready to continue its presence even if the OSCE and UN 
missions come to an end. 
 
¶13.  (C)  Sweden said the lack of access to the breakaway 
republics was a serious problem and emphasized the importance 
of working to keep the OSCE mission alive.  Noting 
&complications8 in the incident response and prevention 
mechanism agreed in Geneva, Sweden lamented that no dates had 
been set for further consultations in Geneva.  Sweden also 
noted that Russia had not agreed to place a liaison to EUMM 
on the ground, but nonetheless launched allegations against 
the Georgians.  Concluding, Sweden said that the EU in 
troikas with Russia must emphasize the Russian commitment to 
withdraw in line with ceasefire agreements. 
 
¶14.  (C)  Turkey intervened to question why the EU had not 
accepted the Turkish offer of personnel for EUMM Georgia. 
Klompenhouwer responded with the well-known refrain that the 
EU had wanted to show that the 27 Member States could respond 
and therefore did not require third country contributions. 
 
EULEX Kosovo 
 
¶15.  (C)  The Czech EU Presidency said the EU,s Rule of Law 
Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo is maturing and coordination with 
NATO,s KFOR is strong.  The Presidency said that the mission 
had passed its first tests at the turn of the year and had 
implemented measures to increase responsiveness.  Further, 
the Presidency said that EULEX was starting to implement the 
core of its mandate and was picking up speed. 
 
¶16.  (C) Klompenhouwer reported that EULEX is implementing 
its mandate throughout Kosovo.  He said that EULEX had 
secured its first conviction in a war crimes case and that 
the first case in the Mitrovica courthouse was being heard. 
Klompenhouwer stressed that the Kosovo Police remain the 
first responders ) with EULEX supporting in a mentoring, 
 
BRUSSELS 00000401  004 OF 005 
 
 
monitoring and advising (MMA) capacity ) backed up by EULEX 
special police units and KFOR in that order.  EULEX is 
facilitating joint, multi-ethnic patrols in North Mitrovica. 
 
¶17.  (C) Klompenhouwer said that the mission is getting 
greater cooperation from Belgrade, but needs to make progress 
on integrating ethnic Serb police officers into Kosovo,s 
police forces south of the Ibar.  Head of Mission Yves de 
Kermabon will travel to Belgrade March 19 to work out this 
and other technical issues.  On customs, Klompenhouwer said 
EULEX was manning Gates 1 and 31, but not yet collecting 
duties.  He reported that the mission was currently staffed 
by some 1,695 internationals with another 150 personnel 
coming on line prior to reaching a full operating capability 
(FOC) by the end of March. 
 
¶18.  (C) Despite these achievements, Klompenhouwer stressed 
that the mission &wasn,t there yet.8  He singled out 
customs and the effective functioning of the Mitrovica 
courthouse as key tasks moving forward.  Klompenhouwer said 
that a &single economic and legal space across Kosovo was 
key8 and thanked third states for their political and 
substantive support. 
 
¶19.  (SBU)  USEU Charge congratulated the EU on its 
successful deployment and said EULEX now needs a burst of 
energy to assert itself on control of customs and courts in 
the Serb-majority north.  He also called for a strong common 
approach to Serbia, supporting its integration to Europe but 
insisting that Belgrade deliver on its promise of full 
cooperation with EULEX.  (Note: Klompenhouwer nodded upon 
hearing each of the Charge,s points, with his personal 
assistant later thanking PolOff for the Charge,s comments 
and continued support for EULEX by the U.S.  End note.) 
 
¶20.  (C//NF)  Turkey said it is taking part in EULEX with 38 
personnel, which it is willing to increase to 150.  At the 
same time, Turkey attaches particular importance to the 
selection of Turkish personnel to specific positions in 
EULEX.  (On the margins of the meeting, a Turkish contact 
told PolOff that while an increase in Turkish participation 
was not officially tied to certain positions, the two issues 
are clearly related.)  Canada praised the progress Kosovo has 
made since independence and said it would be ready to 
contribute following the next EU call for contributions. 
Spain said Kosovo still confronts challenges to stability, 
such as organized crime, and that EULEX reaching FOC was 
critical.  Spain also praised the opening of a EULEX office 
in Belgrade.  Italy emphasized the importance of the mission 
and expressed  satisfaction that no major security incident 
had taken place since Kosovo,s declaration of independence. 
Italy also said deploying throughout the country is critical. 
 
EUPOL Afghanistan 
 
¶21.  (C)  Klompenhouwer said that after a difficult start, 
EUPOL Afghanistan had reached the minimum number of personnel 
necessary to execute the mission and had reoriented its 
mandate to include more than just strategic advising.  The EU 
still needs to increase contributions to reach 400 personnel 
and is working hard to attract those contributions. 
Klompenhouwer said cooperation with international 
organizations and third countries is improving and that EUPOL 
is working with CSTC-A to fill niches in the international 
police training effort.  While Klompenhouwer acknowledged the 
challenges that lie ahead for EUPOL, he said he prefers to 
think of the mission as a &glass half full.8  After the 
meeting, Klompenhouwer told USEU that he is concerned that if 
NATO stands up a police training mission and calls for 
contributors from European Allies, NATO force generation will 
compete with EUPOL.  Klompenhouwer suggested that using a 
contractor to recruit retired rather than active duty police 
could avoid this problem. 
 
¶22.  (SBU)  USEU Charge said that helping Afghanistan will 
take a redoubled international effort, which is why the U.S. 
is undertaking a broad-ranging strategic review while 
simultaneously increasing its force contributions by 17,000. 
He said we welcome EU input into our review, and that recent 
 
BRUSSELS 00000401  005 OF 005 
 
 
high-level visitors had made this point to EU counterparts. 
He said the U.S. looks forward to EUPOL reaching its 
authorized strength of 400 personnel, and expressed 
confidence that we will find a security solution that allows 
EU police trainers to deploy increasingly outside Kabul. 
 
¶23.  (SBU)  The Netherlands emphasized that the EU has 
commitments it must meet.  Calling for increased 
contributions and improved international coordination of 
police training and development aid, the Netherlands 
confirmed that it would host a conference on March 31, to 
which 72 countries and 15 organizations are invited.  The 
conference will include discussions of security, political, 
and development issues, with an emphasis on the regional 
dimension. 
 
¶24.  (C)  Norway said it would increase its personnel 
contribution to international police training efforts from 18 
to 23, although it did not say how many of these would be 
placed under EUPOL.  Norway is also considering increasing 
its participation in Focused District Development in Faryab 
province, which it would do in coordination with EUPOL. 
Canada predicted that the U.S. review would make reference to 
the need for increased police training efforts, and that 
Canada was keen to help EUPOL take on an increased role 
outside Kabul.  With NATO contemplating an increased police 
training role, Canada emphasized that the EU needs to get up 
to strength, have a clear mandate, and establish benchmarks 
to avoid withering away. 
 
¶25.  (C)  Germany said EUPOL is now present in sixteen 
provinces, and the EU is committed to doubling the mission to 
¶400.  Germany said optimism is justified and that 
contributions by third states like Canada, Norway, and 
Croatia are substantial and important.  Calling for improved 
international coordination, Germany also reiterated the need 
for a security agreement with ISAF, both for EUPOL and for a 
potential EU election observation mission for the 2009 Afghan 
elections.  Klompenhouwer echoed the need for a security 
agreement.  The European Commission representative Richard 
Wright stressed that Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner 
wants to send a full election observation mission to 
Afghanistan, but that such a mission depends on receiving 
assurances of security and that the Commission would rely on 
the full cooperation of international partners in achieving 
this goal. 
 
¶26.  (C//NF)  Turkey said building the Afghan National 
Security Forces is critical to success, and Turkey is helping 
to train both army and police officials.  Turkey expressed 
its willingness to contribute to EUPOL once NATO and the EU 
reach the necessary technical agreements.   (Comment: Turkey 
has, in fact,  blocked a NATO-EU technical agreement, which 
it insists should only exist under the agreed framework that 
excludes Cyprus.) 
 
Any Other Business 
 
¶27.  (C//NF)  Before the meeting closed, Turkey spoke again 
about the need for the EU to consult with non-EU European 
Allies in an intensified way when the EU is considering 
operations in Allies, geographic proximity.  With that in 
mind, Turkey said if the EU re-invigorates its mission in 
Gaza, it should do so only after close consultations with 
Turkey.  In addition, Turkey is willing to contribute as the 
EU increases its numbers in its police mission in the West 
Bank. 
MURRAY 
.