Brussels, 27/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Union hopes to soon receive information from the United States on Guantanamo inmates with a view to the latter being taken in on European territory. “We hope to have answers by the next meeting of the EU home ministers on 6 April”, a senior European diplomat said. A European delegation was in Washington on 17 March this year with a list of questions for acquiring maximum details on the 60 inmates cleared for release in order to help the EU formulate its stance (EUROPE 9865). It has been informally suggested to Europeans that there should be a memorandum of understanding in exchange for their assistance. “Ideally, a memorandum of understanding would allow the strengthened partnership framework to be redefined in the area of security, and would underline the fundamental principles of the repressive approach to combating terrorism. It should not go further”, the diplomatic source said.
New US approach. Since the announced closure of Guantanamo in one year's time, the United States has been developing a method based on rule of law and exception procedures. “This administration is strongly in favour of rule of law”, the diplomat said, pointing out that the Guantanamo dossier was no longer under the Defence Secretariat but entirely placed under the responsibility of Justice Secretary Eric Holder, who reports to President Barack Obama each week. Mr Holder's services have been divided into two working groups, one responsible for re-examining the dossier on the 242 prisoners on a case by case basis, and the other responsible for in-depth review of counter-terrorism policies. The first group of experts is looking at the cases of inmates likely to be released in the near future, although for now this gives priority to cases pending before the courts in Washington. The experts, who are not bound by assessments made under the George W. Bush era, should give their conclusions next summer. Depending on the results, the number of detainees cleared for release by the former administration, i.e. 60 inmates, could be changed to a total of between 40 to 100. Regarding the review of policies, the first results should be known this autumn. Will the United States take in any of the detainees on its mainland? The diplomat said that the US will finally take some in, but pointed out that Americans had not given a firm answer on this. He went on to add: “In order to convince Europeans to share the burden, the US should also take on its share”. Things are expected to move slowly, however, as the matter of hosting prisoners in the United States is highly controversial, especially in Congress.
Europeans hesitate. Once they have a response, the EU27 are expected to determine a stance in order to draw up an action plan. Three solutions are open to them. Firstly, if they do not reach agreement, each member state will hold bilateral discussions with the United States and fix its own rules. Secondly, the solution might be to coordinate the impact of hosting a number of detainees at the level of the Schengen countries. The most ambitious solution of all would be to adopt a common European approach within which each member state would take its own decision and begin discussions on a memorandum of understanding with the United States. Whatever the solution chosen, one thing is certain, the diplomat said: “The member states are not informed about what the other countries are doing”. It would therefore not be completely pointless for at least a minimum share of the process to be organised in Brussels, at any rate through the establishment of an information mechanism. At the present time, the prospect for the EU to reach agreement on a common position is highly uncertain. France, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Finland and Luxembourg (as well as Switzerland which is part of the Schengen Area) are in favour of hosting detainees on a case by case basis. Germany and Belgium are hesitant. The Netherlands, Austria and Poland have already announced that they refuse to take in any of the inmates. It is true that there are still a huge number of questions left unanswered. For example, what status must be given to the former detainees once they are on European soil? A joint Commission/EC Council paper sets out two procedures: - the issue of a permit to stay and the use of an international protection mechanism. What will Europeans do if some of the persons released wish to initiate legal action against the United States in their new host country? Prohibiting them from taking any action would run counter to the principles of European law. It is in this very difficult context that the Czech EU Presidency intends to propose further ministerial discussion during lunch in Luxembourg on 6 April. “The Presidency wants to sound ministers out to see if they are willing to move ahead on a common response”, the diplomat explained, stressing the fact that, if a solution is to be found, it will depend on the Presidency and not on the Commission. “If the Czechs really want to move forward, then they must prepare themselves”, he said. President Obama will be in Prague on 5 April to take part in the informal EU/US meeting. The diplomatic source went on to conclude: “I would be surprised if he does not call on the Europeans for a little assistance. We'll see what European countries say now and what they say in front of Obama”. (B.C./transl.jl)