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R 011026Z SEP 09
FM USEU BRUSSELS
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BRUSSELS 001202 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL EAID EUN AF PK IK
SUBJECT: USEU SCENESETTER FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY LEW 
 
¶1. (SBU) You are visiting Brussels at an ideal 
time to discuss Afghanistan and Pakistan with the 
EU.  Already a major contributor of development 
and humanitarian assistance, the EU is in the 
midst of writing a new Af/Pak strategy paper for 
release in October.  Although European public 
opinion is skeptical of efforts in Afghanistan, 
the Swedish EU Presidency is committed to this 
project, which EU foreign ministers will discuss 
in the days before your arrival.  The EUQs 
commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan includes 
billions of dollars in aid, a police training 
program in Afghanistan, and increasing political 
and economic engagement with Pakistan.  Your 
interlocutors should be keen to discuss the 
emerging EU strategy, as well as to look for areas 
for concrete U.S.-EU cooperation, such as in the 
field of police training, particularly as the EU- 
U.S. summit approaches.  Europeans need to 
appreciate better what is at stake for them in 
Afghanistan and Pakistan.  On Iraq, the EU has 
been more forthcoming in looking for ways to 
coordinate or partner with us since the change of 
administration, expanding and starting to do in- 
country judicial training, undertaking 
negotiations on a partnership agreement, and 
continuing to support refugee return; however, 
they are less enthusiastically involved than in 
Afghanistan/Pakistan. 
 
A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR IN AFGHANISTAN 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The European Commission (EC) is a large 
donor to Afghanistan and is one of the few that 
provides a multi-year commitment.  This is on top 
of the support that individual EU member states 
provide to Afghanistan.  The EC provided 
approximately 1.3 billion euros in assistance for 
the period 2002-2006, overshooting its pledged 1 
billion euros.  For 2007-2010, the EC pledged 610 
million (e.g. approximately 150 million/year). 
This figure still holds in EU planning, although 
there will likely be additional funding from the 
European CommissionQs Humanitarian Aid Office 
(ECHO) and other areas of the Commission that 
could bring the total figure closer to 750 million 
euros.  The Commission is committed to assistance 
to Afghanistan through at least 2013, and External 
Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner told 
the press earlier this year that the current 
financial crisis will not deter the CommissionQs 
commitment to Afghanistan.  The ECQs funding 
target for the entire 2007-2013 period is at least 
1.3 billion euros.  The ECQs assistance strategy 
reflects the priorities laid out in the 
Afghanistan Compact and the Afghan National 
Development Strategy.  EC assistance for 2008-2010 
focuses on three areas: reform of the justice 
sector; rural development, including alternatives 
to poppy production; and public health.  About 10 
percent of EC funding goes to non-focus areas, 
such as de-mining, regional cooperation, and 
support to vulnerable groups.  We have coordinated 
with the EC to encourage regional economic 
cooperation, including working together to craft 
the agenda for a successful Regional Economic 
Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad 
last May. 
 
STRONG SUPPORT TO AFGHAN ELECTIONS 
---------------------------------- 
 
3.(SBU) Responding directly to VP BidenQs request 
in March, the EC provided considerable support to 
the August 20 presidential and provincial 
elections.  The EC pledged 35 million euros to the 
UNQs fund for electoral support and launched a 
120-person election observation mission headed by 
former French general Philippe Morillon.  Days 
after the election, Morillon commented to the 
press that the election had been fair, but not 
entirely free due to violence preventing some 
voters from reaching the polls.  Both EU Council 
and EC officials will be keen to discuss post- 
election Afghanistan with you. 
 
4.(SBU) Sweden, which leads the EU as president 
until the end of the year, has been energetic in 
 
BRUSSELS 00001202  002 OF 004 
 
 
coordinating contributions from EU member states 
and will shepherd a paper on EU strategies for 
post-election engagement.  Swedish Foreign 
Minister Bildt told NATO, and EC Commissioner 
Ferrero-Waldner told the Secretary in July that 
the EUQs Af/Pak strategy would probably be adopted 
in October, after discussion at the informal 
foreign ministersQ meeting (Gymnich) on September 
4- 
¶5.  While foreign ministers will not officially 
take decisions during the Gymnich, they will start 
to shape discussions in Brussels leading up to 
formal adoption at the October ministerial.  You 
may want to ask about the Gymnich discussion 
during your visit to Brussels. 
 
LOOKING TO EXPAND POLICE TRAINING EFFORTS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
5.(SBU) In 2007, EU member states launched an EU 
police training mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL). 
After some initial difficulties, the mission is 
gaining strength and new commander Kai Vittrup is 
winning praise in Kabul and Brussels.  The EUPOL 
mission currently numbers about 265 police 
trainers, with an eventual target of 400.  The 
mission was initially focused on civil policing 
tasks in Kabul, but as the mission has grown, it 
has pushed more trainers out to the provinces. 
EUPOL officers are currently present in 14 PRTs, 
and EUPOL is seeking to increase its presence in 
the U.S.-administered Regional Command-East.  To 
do this, the EU is asking for a technical 
agreement with the United States, which would have 
the U.S. provide housing, medical care, logistics, 
and Q most importantly Q in extremis life- 
protection support to EU civilian police at our 
PRTs.  Your interlocutors may want to discuss the 
possibility of negotiating an agreement with the 
USG, as the EU has done with most other non-EU 
countries leading PRTs in Afghanistan.  We have 
sought guidance from Washington on whether there 
could be such an agreement. 
 
INCREASING OUTREACH TO PAKISTAN 
------------------------------- 
 
6.(SBU) The EU recognizes the need for additional 
focus on and support to Pakistan.  The first EU- 
Pakistan summit took place in Brussels on June 17 
and initiated a strategic dialogue on development, 
education, science and technology, security, 
counter-terrorism, democracy, human rights and 
trade.  The joint summit statement said the EU and 
Pakistan would work towards further liberalization 
of trade, and that the EU would continue to help 
Pakistan meet the EUQs sanitary and phyto-sanitary 
requirements for fishery and other products.  The 
parties also agreed to undertake a counter- 
terrorism dialogue, notably in the field of law 
enforcement and criminal justice, and to consult 
regularly on arms control, disarmament and 
nonproliferation issues. 
 
7.(SBU) The Commission has allocated 200 million 
euros to Pakistan in its program for the period 
2007-2010, focused on poverty reduction, as well 
as education and human resources development, in 
particular in the North-West Frontier Province and 
Baluchistan.  At the April Tokyo donors 
conference, the EC pledged 485 million euros 
between 2009 and 2013.  EU member states and the 
EC together pledged around $1.8 billion of the $5 
billion in total pledged at the conference.  In 
the wake of the Pakistani military offensive in 
the Swat Valley, the EC also increased its 
humanitarian aid to Pakistan from 7 million euros 
to 72 million.  While visiting Brussels in late 
July, SRAP Holbrooke urged EU leaders to consider 
a further increase in humanitarian aid, as well as 
support to the Pakistani electricity sector, ideas 
EU officials may want to discuss with you.  The EU 
will probably be open to specific proposals for 
increased aid to Pakistan, given their growing 
engagement. 
 
KEEPING THE EU ENGAGED IN IRAQ 
------------------------------ 
 
 
BRUSSELS 00001202  003 OF 004 
 
 
8.(SBU) In contrast to Afghanistan and Pakistan, 
overall EC donor support to Iraq has been 
decreasing since 2007, with the allocation for 
2009-2010 reaching only 65.8 million euros. 
Although the EU has been more willing to listen to 
requests for Iraqi IDP and refugee support since 
President Obama took office, they remain skeptical 
about the reported numbers of displaced Iraqis in 
the region and claims about their needs.   On 
returns-related initiatives, however, the 
Commission is more supportive, and is moving from 
single-year assistance programs to a multi-year 
strategy focused on creating a favorable 
environment for refugee and IDP returns.  In the 
2009-2010 program, 20 million euros will go to 
good governance and rule of law; technical 
assistance to the Independent High Commissioner 
for Human Rights; modernization of the legal 
education system; implementation of a new NGO law; 
and the creation of an NGO network.  The other 
43.8 million euros for 2009-2010 are allocated to 
the provision of basic health, education, and 
migration/displacement services.  Additional 
support on migration and displacement issues 
includes a 20 million euro package of humanitarian 
aid from ECHO. 
 
9.(SBU) While we still expect your interlocutors 
to be reluctant to provide major new contributions 
for refugees outside of Iraq, we want to encourage 
European donors to join us in providing critical 
assistance to ensure that returning Iraqis 
successfully reintegrate into former communities 
or settle in new communities.  Early success will 
demonstrate to Iraqi refugees in the region that 
return and national reconciliation are possible. 
 
10.(SBU) The EU Council is increasing its 
activities to reform the Iraqi judicial sector and 
may look for opportunities to partner with us. 
Since its launch in 2005, the EUQs Integrated Rule 
of Law Mission for Iraq (EUJUST LEX) has provided 
training to senior Iraqi criminal justice 
officials.  The mission has held over 100 training 
courses and trained over 2,700 Iraqi officials. 
Until this summer, all training activities had 
been held outside Iraq, but in July, the EU kicked 
off several in-country pilot programs, which could 
provide the basis for expanded activities in Iraq. 
As the EU considers further action inside Iraq, 
your interlocutors may be interested in discussing 
partnership opportunities.  In addition to refugee 
and rule of law programs, the EU is IraqQs second 
largest trading partner and is in the process of 
negotiating a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, 
which may be concluded by the end of 2009. 
 
RESOURCES 
--------- 
 
11.(SBU) The U.S. Mission to the EU (USEU) is one 
of our largest policy and reporting missions 
abroad.  USEU comprises eight agencies that convey 
USG positions and report on EU-wide developments 
as they affect U.S. interests, especially in 
economic, foreign policy, and justice related 
areas.  USEUQs 70 American and 35 European staff 
follow EU activities as they evolve in the two 
dozen Directorates-General of the EU Commission; 
in parallel structures of the EU Council, which 
comprises the 27 member state embassies in 
Brussels; and in the still modestly-empowered 
European Parliament. 
 
12.(SBU) USEUQs substantive priorities are led by 
Afghanistan, followed by energy security and 
climate change, dealing with Russia, Middle East 
peace, the Doha Trade Round, the Transatlantic 
Economic Council, and personal data protection. 
Justice and law enforcement activities, including 
counterterrorism, are moving up the agenda. 
Present levels of staffing and facilities are 
right for now, and for the foreseeable future. 
The complexity of EU institutions and procedures 
tends to inhibit U.S. officialsQ understanding of 
what the EU can and cannot accomplish.  And, as 
such, the EUQs complexity can operate either to 
our benefit or to our detriment.  We benefit when 
the EUQs consensus requirements forestall radical 
 
BRUSSELS 00001202  004 OF 004 
 
 
positions or decisions with which we disagree, but 
consensus as well as complex procedures can impede 
the EU from taking strong, positive action when 
called for. 
 
MURRAY