VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHCP #0291/01 1771507
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 261507Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5033

UNCLAS COPENHAGEN 000291 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV DA
SUBJECT:  MAJORITY LEADER HOYER'S VISIT TO DENMARK 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. Prospects for U.S. climate and energy legislation 
and its potential impact on an international climate agreement in 
December were foremost in the minds of Danish interlocutors as House 
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer visited Copenhagen May 26 - 29.  Hoyer, 
in meetings with senior Danish government and parliamentary leaders, 
emphasized that the new administration and congress both want a 
climate deal, but cautioned the Danes to not set expectations too 
high.  Hoyer's visit was also an important opportunity to solicit 
Danish views on a broad range of other issues, including 
Afghanistan, the Middle East, Guantanamo detainees, and it provided 
a chance to thank the Danes, and particularly the Danish parliament, 
for their close partnership with the U.S. in Afghanistan and in 
addressing other global challenges.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer visited Copenhagen May 
26 - 29 at the invitation of the Speaker of the Danish Parliament 
(Folketing), Thor Pedersen.  Hoyer was accompanied by Senior Foreign 
Policy Advisor Mariah Sixkiller and Deputy Director for Floor 
Operations Austin Burnes.  During the visit Hoyer met with Danish 
Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, Foreign Minister Per Stig 
Moeller, Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard, and the 
leadership of the Folketing, and other senior parliamentary leaders. 
 The Majority Leader also had an audience with Queen Margrethe II. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Hoyer was warmly welcomed by Folketing Speaker Pedersen and 
the parliament's senior leadership, or presidium.  Pedersen thanked 
Hoyer for having welcomed many Danish parliamentarians in Washington 
and noted that it was a pleasure to return the favor in Copenhagen. 
Hoyer thanked Pedersen for Denmark's close friendship with the 
United States in general and in particular expressed appreciation 
for Danish engagement in Afghanistan.  Danish soldiers, Hoyer noted, 
had seen tough fighting in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province 
and had suffered, on a per capita basis, some of the highest 
casualty rates among ISAF partners.  Hoyer thanked the presidium for 
the broad political backing that underpinned the Danish deployment, 
and noted the importance of maintaining that support. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Danish Climate and Energy Minister Connie Hedegaard's focus 
was on prospects for U.S. legislation that could provide a U.S. 
mandate for negotiations at December's international climate summit 
in December (COP-15), which Denmark will host.  Hedegaard hoped that 
U.S. legislation would be "aggressive," and she asked for Hoyer's 
assessment of key deadlines and potential roadblocks.  Hoyer, noting 
the recent launch of legislation by the House's Committee on Energy 
and Environment, said that he hoped to see the House pass final 
climate and energy legislation by July.  Hoyer cautioned that any 
U.S. climate bill would inevitably reflect a complex series of 
political compromises resulting from committee reviews not only in 
the House but in the Senate as well. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The result of those compromises might produce outcomes less 
ambitious than the Danes or others might like, particularly in 
regard to reductions in U.S. CO2 emissions.  However, Hoyer 
continued, it was his sense that Congress and the administration 
were working to produce a "serious" package that would allow the 
U.S. to arrive in Copenhagen in December ready to contribute 
positively to a deal.  Hedegaard also reinforced that U.S. 
leadership was critical in helping get China to support an 
agreement.  Hoyer noted that Speaker Pelosi was visiting China even 
as Hedegaard and Hoyer were meeting, and that the administration had 
just selected a "real heavyweight" as the prospective U.S. 
ambassador to China. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Hoyer's meeting with Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller 
reinforced themes on climate legislation and Afghanistan, and also 
focused on the broader Middle East.  Moeller stressed the importance 
of reaching a global climate agreement in Copenhagen in December. 
Hoyer thanked Moeller for Denmark's engagement in Kosovo and 
Afghanistan.  Both agreed on the importance of a two-state solution 
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Moeller claiming credit as 
"one of the authors" of the two-state "roadmap."  Moeller also 
emphasized the importance of engaging Syria, both to encourage 
resumption of a separate negotiating track with the Israelis and to 
counter Iranian meddling in the region.  Hoyer expressed skepticism 
regarding Syria's willingness and ability to pursue a separate peace 
with Israel; Moeller admitted such a goal might still be remote, but 
he nevertheless felt it important to engage Syrian leadership. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Majority Leader Hoyer's meeting with Prime Minister Lars 
Loekke Rasmussen also centered broadly on climate issues, with the 
PM also hoping for strong congressional leadership that would 
provide the U.S. administration with a solid negotiating mandate. 
Rasmussen also praised the Major Economies Forum, calling it a "very 
useful vehicle" for advancing negotiations.  Hoyer told Rasmussen 
that Congress had a difficult road ahead, and that there was still 
significant resistance in both some Republican and Democratic 
circles to specific aspects of a climate and energy bill, 
particularly those aspects regarding costs.  Most U.S. legislators 
would find the energy independence and security components of the 
bill easier to back, Hoyer explained. On the other hand, CO2 
reduction, and debates regarding cap and trade and auction versus 
allocation of emissions credits were more contentious.  It would 
take many compromises to put together legislative majorities in the 
 
House and Senate.  Hoyer also reminded Rasmussen that climate and 
energy legislation was only one of several difficult issues being 
address in the new Congress, with economic recovery, health care and 
education all competing for attention and resources. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Hoyer asked Rasmussen about health care, noting that 
Denmark's system was one that relied predominantly on the state to 
fund and provide care, but that the Danish system also allowed for 
private health care providers.  Could the PM offer advice as 
Congress looked at this issue?  Rasmussen said it was important to 
maintain some aspects of competition in the system, both to 
encourage effectiveness and to ease bottlenecks where the public 
system at times might not be able to offer care within a reasonable 
timeframe.  Rasmussen also underlined the Danish system's emphasis 
on prevention, and the government's efforts to improve communication 
between general practitioners and hospitals. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Hoyer and Rasmussen also briefly touched on Guantanamo 
detainees and whether the Danes might be willing to accept any. 
Rasmussen welcomed the new administration's commitment to close 
Guantanamo, and said that Denmark wanted to work with other European 
partners to try to assist.  That said, Rasmussen said Denmark would 
be unlikely to accept detainees.  First, Danish legislation would 
not allow it.  But, even assuming a change in legislation, Denmark 
felt that its efforts in Afghanistan, and its full participation in 
ISAF combat and civilian operations, led Denmark to conclude that 
others "who are not pulling their weight" should take detainees 
first.  Hoyer also inquired about Danish reaction to North Korea's 
recent nuclear test, which Rasmussen strongly condemned.  Hoyer also 
encouraged Danish and European engagement with Russia.  In 
particular, Hoyer stressed that Rasmussen, as a new and relatively 
young European prime minister, would be well-positioned to reach out 
to Russian president Medvedev, whom Hoyer suggested would at some 
point distance himself from Putin and come into his own as a 
leader. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment.  Majority Leader Hoyer was warmly welcomed by 
Danish parliamentarians and was able to engage with a broad spectrum 
of party and committee leaders. In addition to his meeting with the 
Folketing's Presidium, the Majority Leader also delivered a 
well-received speech to approximately 100 Folketing members, 
praising Denmark's consistent championing of human and political 
rights.  A separate lunch with Social Democratic Party leader Helle 
Thorning-Schmidt was another opportunity to discuss the politics of 
a climate agreement, seem from the perspective of the Danish 
opposition.  Finally, the Majority Leader was also granted an 
audience with Denmark's Queen Margrethe II.  Hoyer's Danish ancestry 
resonated deeply with his interlocutors here, and many Danish 
parliamentarians noted with gratitude that Hoyer's door was always 
open when they visited Washington. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment continued.  The Majority Leader's visit was also 
important and helpful in injecting a healthy dose of realism into 
what have been at times very high Danish expectations for U.S. 
actions in support of a global climate agreement.  At the same time, 
Hoyer clearly noted that both Congress and the administration were 
committed to serious and sustained efforts to reach a deal in 
Copenhagen in December.  Secondly, and just as importantly, Hoyer 
was effective and gracious in conveying to Danish parliamentarians 
that Denmark's efforts in Afghanistan were both noticed and valued 
by its U.S. ally.  While the USG has had several senior 
administration officials in Copenhagen over the past year who shared 
similar messages, the Majority Leader was the senior-most 
congressional official to visit Copenhagen in many years, and his 
engagement with Danish parliamentarians will help ensure that both 
the Danish and U.S. governments can continue to count on broad 
Folketing support for Danish engagement in Afghanistan. 
 
¶12. (U) Majority Leader Hoyer's office has cleared this message. 
McCulley