BRUSSELS (AFP) — European officials sought Wednesday to pressure the US into accepting Guantanamo Bay detainees on its own territory amid negotiations over rules governing their release overseas, diplomats said.
Ambassadors from the 27 European Union nations discussed for the first time what they want to see included in a joint EU-US declaration being drawn up, which also included the thorny issue of United States compensation.
The Czech EU presidency was scheduled to discuss the text with US officials at a video conference in the evening ahead of EU interior ministers addressing the issue at a meeting in Luxembourg next week.
The goal is "to obtain guarantees from the US" that it is abandoning the former Bush administration's excesses in the war against terror and moving closer to a "more European" approach which better respects human rights, one European source said.
A draft of the EU-US declaration presented by the Czech EU presidency to its fellow member states stresses that "the EU and the US share fundamental values of freedom, democracy, respect for human right and the rule of law.
"We reaffirm that the primary responsibility for closing Guantanamo and finding residence for the former detainees rests with the United States.
"We take note that the United States recognizes its responsibility to accept certain former detainees who indicate a desire to be admitted," says the draft text, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
That last phrase poses a problem for Washington, where debate continues on the fate of the Guantanamo detainees. The Americans would prefer that the text remains "open" on this point, one diplomat said.
Any compensation that Washington should offer those freed from the camp in Cuba and bound for Europe also remains a problem, he added.
Amongst themselves the Europeans are split over the timing of the declaration's release, according to diplomatic sources.
France -- which last week admitted an Algerian ex-Guantanamo prisoner -- along with Spain and Britain, which has allowed in British nationals from the camp, want to seal the text in the coming days.
Other EU nations, notably Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, feel this would be premature while Washington has not yet finalised its own policy on Guantanamo.
The statement also underlines that "decisions on the reception of former detainees and the determination of their legal status fall within the sole responsibility and competence of a receiving EU member state."
Europe's no-borders Schengen area -- which includes 25 EU and non-EU nations -- means a detailed agreement is required among those nations which have signed up for freedom of movement within that area.
The draft mechanism foresees any EU nation accepting a former Guantanamo detainee exchanging information on them with other member states.
Berlin and Vienna want to go further by stipulating that such former detainees are not allowed to circulate freely in the Schengen area, however such an agreement would be "judicially impossible," the diplomat said.
In general, while European nations back the Obama administration's plan to close down Guantanamo few are willing to take in those freed from the camp.
Certainly the European Union is offering no overall figure.
Six countries have said they are willing to accept former detainees: Britain, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and, recently, Belgium.
Obama's plans to shutter the controversial prison camp by January 22, 2010, have faced criticism from both Republicans and his Democratic allies.
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