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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 001207 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/03/2019 
TAGS: PREL EUN PREL IS GZ WE SY IR AF PK TU EG FR
SUBJECT: FRENCH EXPECTATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER GYMNICH 
 
REF: A. 8/28/09 EUR/ERA GYMNICH EMAIL 
     ¶B. VIENNA 413 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Kathy Allegrone for Reasons 
 1.4 (b), (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: MFA Acting Chief of EU Common Foreign and 
Security Policy Mathieu Carmona previewed on September 3 
French expectations and priorities for the September 4-5 
Gymnich.  Discussions of all subjects, which will include 
Middle East peace, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Turkey 
and Armenia, will remain broad, though French priorities 
include: pushing for a summit on the peace process in the 
context of the Union for the Mediterranean, overcoming Dutch 
opposition to an Association Agreement with Syria, 
maintaining EU solidarity on French citizens facing trial in 
Iran, stiffening member states' resolve to move forward with 
new sanctions against Iran, and making progress on clarifying 
the EU's future role in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Separately, 
GOF sources have told us France may bring up at the Gymnich 
the issue of Egypt's planned Middle East Safeguards 
resolution at the IAEA. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Middle East Peace Process: Carmona asked for a 
progress report of U.S. efforts to bring the Palestinians and 
Israelis together, noting both that there was some concern 
that the effort was flagging and that the EU wants to do what 
it can to support the Obama administration and the Quartet. 
He said Swedish FM Carl Bildt still plans to visit the region 
soon to increase EU visibility in the effort, and added that 
Mahmoud Abbas was currently in Paris, meeting on September 3 
with FM Kouchner and on September 4 with President Sarkozy. 
Carmona said France is in full agreement with the substance 
of the U.S. non-paper (ref A), but cautioned that, while 
rightly focusing on Israeli and Palestinian responsibilities 
in the West Bank, the international community cannot lose 
sight of continuing chaos in Gaza.  Specifically, the Israeli 
blockade is continuing the misery upon which radicals in Gaza 
feed. 
 
¶3. (C) Carmona said FM Kouchner has two Middle East 
priorities at the Gymnich: first, he will present President 
Sarkozy's plan to host a Middle East peace summit in the 
context of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), assuming 
that the Israelis have committed to freezing settlement 
activity and there is a clear pledge by the parties to resume 
negotiations.  Carmona said while he does not expect 
opposition to the plan per se at the Gymnich, he does expect 
questions from member states regarding the appropriateness of 
the UfM as a forum for such a summit.  Acknowledging that the 
UfM was originally designed to be non-political and focus on 
concrete projects, he suggested the UfM has become an 
established venue to bring all the relevant parties to the 
table, and is thus the best option for hosting a summit on 
the peace process. 
 
¶4. (C) Syria: The second French priority in the Middle East 
is to overcome remaining resistance - primarily Dutch - to 
signing an EU Association Agreement with Syria.  Carmona said 
France would like to make progress on this issue at the 
September GAERC meeting, and thus wants to pave the way by 
gaining consensus at the Gymnich.  When asked if France 
thought it was appropriate to move ahead with an Association 
Agreement given the recent critical IAEA report and Syria's 
continued lack of progress on human rights, Carmona said 
France believes that the agreement would help to separate 
Syria from Iran by offering tangible benefits to 
constructively engaging the West. 
 
¶5. (C) Iran: Ministers will discuss all aspects of the 
situation in Iran, though France hopes to reaffirm EU 
solidarity regarding non-official French citizens who are 
currently facing trial in Iran.  Carmona noted that the 
Swedish presidency had been helpful by saying that Iran's 
actions were not against individual persons or countries, but 
against the EU as a whole.  Carmona acknowledged our request 
for EU support in dealing with the issue of detained and 
missing U.S. citizens.  France also wants to use the Gymnich 
as an opportunity to push reluctant member states (Carmona 
specifically mentioned Italy) to design a sanctions package 
targeting not just proliferation-related entities, but also 
the energy sector, banks, and insurance companies.  Carmona 
said Sarkozy takes this issue very seriously, and has 
publicly given a deadline of the end of September for a 
constructive Iranian response to the U.S. offer of dialogue. 
In this context, all EU member states must start preparing 
for sanctions without further delay. 
 
¶6. (C) Afghanistan/Pakistan: Carmona said the GAERC had asked 
the European Commission in June to prepare a new strategy to 
increase the effectiveness and visibility of the EU's 
activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and said that 
 
PARIS 00001207  002 OF 002 
 
 
ministers would discuss the Commission's draft at the 
Gymnich.  Carmona did not expect any significant conclusions, 
but said the main effort would be to establish priorities 
based on suggestions contained in the draft.  Specifically, 
France was concerned by the difficulty in distributing EU 
aid, saying that while "the money is there," the EU does not 
have a mechanism to get it to the intended recipients in an 
effective manner.  Relying on the UN has been unsatisfactory, 
since there is very little accountability for how the funds 
are disbursed, and "much of it seems to get lost."  Ministers 
will also discuss the Afghan plan to embed European experts 
in Afghan ministries.  He agreed it was a good plan, but said 
member states needed to determine how it could be 
implemented.  Finally, there will be a wide ranging 
discussion of the Afghan elections, focusing on how to take 
advantage of a new Afghan administration to refocus EU 
long-term support. 
 
¶7. (C) Turkey/Armenia: Carmona said that at a lunch on 
September 5, Turkey would present details of its 
rapprochement with Armenia.  The EU would be "in listening 
mode," and this would be an opportunity for Turkey to lead an 
EU discussion. 
 
¶8. (C) Separately, post discussed the EU's role in addressing 
Egyptian attempts to introduce an unhelpful Middle East 
Safeguards (MES) resolution focusing on Israel at the IAEA 
(ref B) during a September 1 meeting with Kouchner's 
Strategic Affairs Advisor Philippe Bertoux.  Bertoux agreed 
that France would try to influence other EU member states who 
might be considering separate negotiations with Egypt.  He 
said France understood the importance of this issue and 
suggested that this Gymnich might be a good opportunity for 
the GOF to highlight the need for unified EU opposition to 
the MES resolution. 
RIVKIN