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FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9943
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000097 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/ERA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM READY TO TAKE ON LEGACY ISSUES DURING 
UPCOMING EU PRESIDENCY 
 
BRUSSELS 00000097  001.4 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  On December 18, EUR/WE Director Maureen 
Cormack met 
with Willem Van De Voorde, Deputy Director General for 
European 
Affairs at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). 
Van De 
Voorde will be coordinating the substantive policy issues 
relating 
to Belgium's  EU presidency in July-December 2010.  Van De 
Voorde 
discussed five "legacy" issues that were developed under 
previous 
presidencies and will continue under the Belgians.  These are 
1) 
putting the Lisbon Treaty into practice, 2) dealing with the 
current 
financial crisis, 3) environment and climate change, 4) the 
Justice 
and Home Affairs (JHA) work program, also known as the 
"Stockholm 
program" and 5) conducting important external meetings and 
summits, 
such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).  Van De Voorde said 
that 
Belgium's own priorities are still under discussion and have 
not yet 
been established.   The Belgian priorities are likely to have 
an 
accent on workers' rights, social justice and 
non-discrimination, he 
said.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  To better understand the Belgian MFAs role in the 
EU presidency, 
Maureen Cormack, the U.S. State Department's Director of 
Western 
European Affairs (EUR/WE)  met with Willem Van De Voorde, 
Deputy 
Director General for European Affairs, at the Belgian 
Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs on December 18.  VanDe Voorde will be 
coordinating 
the program f the Belgian EU presidency starting in July 1, 
¶2010. 
His unit is headed by its  Director Gneral, Xavier Demoulin. 
Demoulin will coordinae his activities with a State 
 Secretary, 
Olivier Chastel, a political appointee, who has similar 
duties but 
approaches them from a political, as opposed to a 
bureaucratic, 
point of view, according to Van De Voorde. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Van De Voorde stated that it is still too early to 
define 
Belgium's own  priorities for its presidency.   He expects 
that they 
will be published around May 2010.  He said that the accent 
in the 
Belgian program is likely to be on workers' rights, social 
justice 
and non-discrimination, based on the influence of the 
francophone 
Socialist Party in the Belgian government.  He also listed 
five 
elements of the "legacy program" introduced and developed 
under 
earlier presidencies, on which Belgium will be working after 
it 
takes over the Council presidency from the Spanish.  These 
are:  1) 
putting the Lisbon Treaty into practice, 2) dealing with the 
current 
financial crisis, 3) environment and climate change, 4) the 
Justice 
and Home Affairs (JHA) work program, also known as the 
"Stockholm 
program" and 5) conducting important external meetings and 
summits, 
such as the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). 
 
TROJKA PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Van De Voorde said that he expects the Spanish 
presidency will 
look "pretty normal", i.e., like earlier presidencies. 
Belgium's 
presidency will focus on implementing the new Lisbon Treaty. 
Belgium is a small country, he said, but as a founding member 
 
BRUSSELS 00000097  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
it has 
long experience in working within the EU.  The EU's new 
members 
distrust some EU institutions but trust Belgium to guide the 
new 
institutions into their "right roles"  and create the "right 
precedents", he believes. The three-member presidency 
"trojkas" of 
the EU Council are balanced with new and old, and large and 
small 
EU member states, which allows for  continuity and stability 
over 18 
months rather than just 6 months, Van De Voorde said.  An 
example of 
this is the upcoming trojka of Spain (large EU member), 
Belgium (old 
EU member) and Hungary (new EU member).  He said that 
although all 
three member states of a presidency are "in the cockpit" only 
the 
current Presidency country is "flying the plane." 
 
LIFE UNDER LISBON 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Van De Voorde said that one important priority of 
the Belgian 
presidency will be putting the Lisbon Treaty into practice. 
This 
will include working out the details of implementation of 
Lisbon 
Treaty elements such as the "citizens' initiative", which are 
mentioned in only general terms in the Treaty.  The external 
action 
service (EAS) , the Council's new diplomatic corps serving 
the High 
Representative, Catherine Ashton,  will have to be set up. 
Spain 
will start the work on this.  Van De Voorde said the earliest 
an 
organizational structure for the service can be approved is 
April 
¶2010.  He foresees a twelve-month transitional period during 
which 
chairmanship of those working groups chaired by the High 
Representative under the Lisbon Treaty will be transferred 
from the 
member state presidency.   Once an organizational diagram is 
approved, the EAS will be able to recruit staff and begin 
work.  Van 
De Voorde believes that the way trade issues are handled 
under the 
EU's Commissioner for Trade will be a blueprint for how 
foreign 
policy issues are handled by the High Representative.  This 
means 
that the United States will be dealing directly with the High 
Representative, and lobbying in the member state capitals as 
well to 
influence her on particular issues.  The main voice will be 
Ashton's, Van De Voorde said. 
 
ECONOMIC CRISIS AFTERMATH 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Van De Voorde expects some important EU rules to 
be created to 
strengthen oversight of European  banks and other financial 
institutions.  Although a  majority of EU bankers  favor 
stricter 
regulations that create a  level playing field, Van De Voorde 
expects some opposition from the financial sector in the city 
of 
London.  The EU's new economic and social strategy, dubbed 
"EU 
2020" will start to grow in importance after the expiration 
of the 
old "Lisbon Strategy" in 2010.  EU 2020 will set forth a 
strategy 
for finishing  internal market reforms and define the 
structure and 
goals for job creation in "green" technology industries 
within the 
EU. 
 
COP15 FOLLOW UP 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Van De Voorde said that the shape of the climate 
change and 
environmental priorities under the Belgian presidency depend 
heavily 
 
BRUSSELS 00000097  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
on what comes out of the Copenhagen Summit, which was  taking 
place 
the day of the meeting with EUR/WE Director Cormack. 
Belgium's 
presidency will coordinate translating a political agreement 
in 
Copenhagen into EU legislation.  Van De Voorde thinks that 
"carbon 
leakage" will become a key issue affecting the 
competitiveness of 
European products.  For example, carbon leakage occurs when 
production is transferred to China, with its lax environmental 
regulation, from Europe, with its strict carbon emissions 
limits. 
The result is damage to the EU's competitiveness with little 
resulting  environmental benefit, Van De Voorde said. 
 
STOCKHOLM PROGRAM 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  The "Stockholm Program" will develop a framework 
for  cooperation 
across EU borders in the areas of police and customs 
cooperation, 
rescue services, criminal and civil law cooperation, and 
asylum, 
migration and visa policy for the period 2010-2014.  The 
program was 
discussed at the informal ministerial meeting in Stockholm in 
July 
2009 and was adopted by the EU in December 2009.  Van De 
Voorde said 
that he expects implementation to continue into the Belgian 
presidency. 
 
SUMMITS WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Van De Voorde said that organizing and planning of 
the EU's 
high-level meetings with foreign partners will be most 
affected by 
the Lisbon Treaty.  EUR/WE Director Cormack told Van De 
Voorde that 
the USG has not committed to holding the EU-U.S. summit in 
Madrid in 
May 2010 and that this  could impact the planned  the date of 
the 
EU-U.S. summit to be held in Washington during Belgium's 
presidency. 
 Van De Voorde took note.  He also said that planning has 
already 
started for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels 
October 4-5, 
2010, which will include 15 Asian nations and the EU. 
 
GUTMAN 
.