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### Viewing cable 05HELSINKI300, AMBASSADOR'S CONVERSATION WITH NEW EU REP KEMPPINEN

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05HELSINKI300 | 2005-03-10 15:03 | 2011-04-24 00:12 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Helsinki

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HELSINKI 000300

    SIPDIS

    DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA AND EUR/NB

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2015
    TAGS: PREL XF RS FI EUN
    SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S CONVERSATION WITH NEW EU REP KEMPPINEN

    Classified By: Ambassador Earle I. Mack, for Reasons 1.4(B) and (D)

    Summary and Comment
    -------------------

    ¶1. (C) Reijo Kemppinen, who until recently was European
    Commission spokesman, has been appointed the Commission's new
    Head of Representation in Finland.  In his introductory
    conversation with the Ambassador, discussion covered a wide
    range of topics, from the President's and Secretary's
    February 22 meetings in Brussels, to next steps in the Middle
    East, to the EU's relations with Russia, to Kemppinen's
    assessment of Barroso's leadership and priorities.

    ¶2. (C) Over the past two years, the Commission's office in
    Finland has kept a rather low profile.  For much of that
    time, Timo Pesonen -- who moved from then-PM Lipponen's staff
    to be Deputy Head of the Representation in early 2003 -- was
    acting Head as well.  (Pesonen is now cabinet chief for
    Finnish EU Commissioner Rehn, in Brussels.)  With the arrival
    of Kemppinen and new Deputy Head Paavo Makinen, the
    Representation's front office is now fully staffed.
    Kemppinen indicated clearly that he intends to make his staff
    a more active participant in Finland's official relationship
    with the EU than has been the case in the recent past.  End
    Summary and Comment.

    The February 22 Meetings and the Middle East
    --------------------------------------------

    ¶3. (SBU) Reijo Kemppinen and Paavo Makinen, new Head and
    Deputy Head of the European Commission's Representation in
    Finland respectively, paid an introductory call on the
    Ambassador on March 2.  ECON and POL chiefs sat in as well.
    The conversation began with a discussion of the President's
    and Secretary's February 22 meetings with European Union
    leaders in Brussels.  Kemppinen said that the visit had
    special symbolic significance in that President Bush was the
    first U.S. President to visit European institutions such as
    the Commission.  There was also real substantive value to the
    visit, in bridging trans-Atlantic gaps.  The Europeans
    particularly valued the opportunity to consult on next steps
    in the Middle East.

    ¶4. (C) The Ambassador said the U.S. strongly agrees on the
    importance of moving ahead in the Middle East Peace Process,
    and we are happy to see that the approach of spring has
    brought some very good signs in the region as a whole,
    including Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt.  We believe that the U.S.
    and European Union can cooperate on every level to help
    realize the President's vision of an Israeli state and a
    Palestinian state living side by side in harmony.  We also
    hope the EU will look to other areas of the Middle East where
    people have risked their lives to advance the cause of
    democracy.

    ¶5. (C) Kemppinen said he hopes America understands the
    complexity of European foreign policymaking, and the reasons
    for that complexity.  "The system often prevents us from
    deciding things clearly," he remarked, and member nations
    have long memories of their individual ties to the Middle
    East, which further complicate the process.  The Ambassador
    replied that he understood, but that we should put the past
    behind us and look forward.

    The European Union as a Work in Progress
    ----------------------------------------

    ¶6. (SBU) In discussing the EU and his own mission in Finland,
    Kemppinen said that the European Union continues to be a
    "project."  The main building blocks -- the internal market,
    the euro, the free movement of persons -- are in place, but
    the EU has yet to become a genuine political union.  European
    integration will continue to deepen in the years to come, but
    to do so the EU needs the competence that only the
    governments of member nations can grant.  This the
    governments can do only if there is public acceptance.  He
    therefore believes that an important part of the job of a
    Commission representative in a national capital is to
    generate more visibility for, and public trust in, the EU.
    The European Union is more sensitive to public opinion than
    ever before -- and publics see Union structures as
    complicated, far away from the people, and managed by
    bureaucrats and politicians unknown outside their own
    borders.

    ¶7. (SBU) Kemppinen went on to say that in Finland he will
    seek to combat this perception in partnership with the GoF
    and with EU embassies, through networking, and by building
    different forms of cooperation.  He wants, inter alia, to
    organize discussions of broad issues of Finland's
    relationship to the European Union, bringing together GoF
    officials, business figures, NGOs, and others.
    Barroso a Pragmatic Leader Who Will Concentrate on
    --------------------------------------------- -----
    Economic Issues
    ---------------

    ¶8. (C) The Ambassador asked Kemppinen and Makinen for their
    assessment of the Barroso leadership.  Kemppinen said that
    the Commission's new President has a very pragmatic style,
    and it is a promising sign that he was able to define his
    core objectives so rapidly.  Barroso's main priorities will
    be economic stability, growth, and employment.  "The other
    factors are window dressing."  The path will not be easy,
    however.  Many within the Union believe that a common
    currency and monetary policy won't be enough -- but the
    difference between what should be done and what can be done
    is formidable.  For example, corporate taxation policy needs
    to be harmonized, but the British find the word "taxation"
    anathema, and instinctively believe that any sentence that
    combines that word with "harmonization" must be negative.

    ¶9. (C) The Ambassador noted that competitiveness is a major
    trans-Atlantic issue, and requires transparency and a level
    playing field.  Kemppinen agreed but said that the same is
    true within the EU itself.  Germany and France have been less
    than happy with the Commission in recent years, "and it all
    had to do with state subsidies."  For that matter, the Finns
    have their own reason to feel aggrieved: the GoF scrapped
    subsidies to the shipbuilding industry on the understanding
    that, via multilateral agreements, other nations around the
    globe would follow suit -- but this never happened.

    Finland's EU Presidency
    -----------------------

    ¶10. (C) The Ambassador remarked that the Finns are already
    well into preparing for their July-December 2006 European
    Union presidency, and asked whether this will impact
    Luxembourg.  Kemppinen said it seems that over the years the
    small nations have been successful in their presidencies, and
    the large ones not.  For the Finns, much will depend on
    whether and how well Luxembourg succeeds, especially whether
    agreement is achieved by June 30 on financing for 2007-2013.
    If it is not, then the realities of national elections
    probably mean that the question will be postponed for a full
    year, and wind up on the Finns' plate.

    ¶11. (C) The Ambassador, noting that the Constitution Treaty
    is due to take effect during the Finnish presidency, asked
    how European Union foreign policy will change under the new
    structure.  Kemppinen said there will be no "EU embassies" as
    such, but he expects a more unified foreign policy line.  In
    most areas of foreign policy member nations will retain their
    national rights, and the consensus rule will remain.  The new
    EU foreign minister's chief advantage will be the permanency
    of the office, coupled with his/her own powers of persuasion.

    Finland, the EU, and Russia
    ---------------------------

    ¶12. (C) The Ambassador noted that Russian FM Lavrov had met
    with the EU Troika, and asked for Kemppinen's thoughts on the
    Russia-EU relationship.  Kemppinen said there is no denying
    there has been a deterioration in relations in recent years,
    partly because of Putin's "regressive policies" and partly
    because of the difficulty over building the common spaces.

    ¶13. (C) Asked about Finland's own role in the European
    Union's relationship with Russia, Makinen remarked that the
    May 2004 enlargement brought in a number of new members "who
    know Russia much better than we do."  Kemppinen added that
    these nations had "very acrimonious past relations" with
    Russia, leaving feelings that will not go away soon.  On the
    other hand, there are new members who have had little or no
    relationship with Russia, either historic or commercial.
    Finland lies in the middle, and might serve as a model of how
    to live with this big neighbor.  In the next decade, the
    European Union could expend to include the Balkans, Turkey,
    and even Ukraine, which will transform the relationship
    again.

    ¶14. (C) Kemppinen said, "I'm not convinced Finns ever were
    experts on Russian culture -- on the Soviet system of
    government, maybe, but not Russian culture."  Makinen
    lamented that although the Finns have business ties with
    Russia, they are doing too little to build up the
    relationship in other areas, such as education.  For example,
    the lack of Russian language instruction in Finnish schools
    ultimately will be a handicap for Finland, he said.

    Bio note
    --------
    ¶15. (U) Kemppinen, 47, is a journalist by profession, and has
    worked in Finland's print and electronic media, and as a
    director of television documentaries and commercials.  Before
    joining the Finnish Foreign Ministry in 1992, he was EC
    correspondent for the "Uusi Suomi" newspaper.  While at MFA
    he was spokesman for the Finnish EU presidency in 1999.  He
    joined the European Commission in 2000, and served as deputy
    spokesman (2002-2003), then spokesman (2003-2004), for the
    Commission.
    MACK

`