FIRST FRANCO-POLISH SUMMIT, FEB. 28, ARRAS, FRANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001617

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV FR PL
SUBJECT: FIRST FRANCO-POLISH SUMMIT, FEB. 28, ARRAS, FRANCE

REF: WARSAW 1204

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso
ns 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: President Chirac hosted Polish President
Kwasniewski and several ministers for the debut Franco-Polish
summit in Arras (northern France) on Feb. 28. French media
emphasized that Paris and Warsaw "sealed their
reconciliation" (Le Figaro, Mar. 1) at the summit. Both the
MFA desk for Poland and the Polish Embassy here noted the
positive tone of the meetings, the breadth of issues
discussed in the joint communique (available in French at
www.elysee.fr) and the recognition that any modification to
the French ban of Polish workers from the labor market will
have to wait until after France's May 29 referendum on the
draft European constitutional treaty. END SUMMARY


2. (U) During Kwasniewski's October 2004 visit to France,
President Chirac proposed commencing annual summits, such as
France currently holds with the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany
(the Franco-German summits being twice yearly). The French
chose to host the summit in the Pas-de-Calais because the
region is home to some 500,000 French citizens of Polish
origin. The summit capped an acceleration of high-level
bilateral exchanges, following not only Kwasniewski's October
trip to France, but the November bilateral governmental
seminar held in Paris, Foreign Minister Barnier's January
trip to Poland, and Chirac's January 27 attendance at the
ceremonies commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz.


3. (U) Demonstrating the scope of issues to be considered
at the summit, seven ministers accompanied each president.
The list of ministerial participants included:

French side
Interior Minister Villepin
Foreign Minister Barnier
Transport Minister Robien
Agriculture/Rural Minister Bussereau
Minister Delegate of Agriculture/Rural Ministry Patrick
Devedjian
Labor Minister in the Employment, Labor and Social Affairs
Ministry Gerard Larcher
Minister for European Affairs in the MFA Claudie Haignere

Polish side
Vice Minister and Economy/Labor Minister Hausner
Foreign Minister Rotfeld
MSWIA Minister Kalisz
Finance Minister Gronicki
Agriculture Minister Olejniczak
Equipment Minister Krzysztof Opawski
UKIE State Secretary Pietras



4. (C) At the end of the day, Presidents Chirac and
Kwasniewski issued both a Communique underlining French and
Polish support for UNSCR 1559 and for the UN investigation
into the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri and a
declaration detailing the subjects of discussion. In
addition, they held a joint press conference at the end of
the afternoon. Prior to the summit, President Chirac granted
an interview to Gazeta Wyborcza, which appeared the day of
the summit.


5. (C) The Polish Embassy here characterized the ambiance of
the meeting as extremely good; they noted that the two
presidents were able to speak frankly. The summit
declaration detailed the subjects discussed: Within the
European context they were CFSP, the European Neighborhood
Policy (especially as pertains to Ukraine),Russia, the
Lisbon strategy, the draft constitution, the budget framework
for 2007 to 2013, and the reforms to the Stability Pact.
Global affairs discussed included Iraq and the MEPP, UN
reform, and the role of the Council of Europe. In regard to
bilateral relations, the two teams discussed agriculture,
Poland's eventual accession to the Schengen group, military
cooperation, Lot's future airliner purchase, and the
possibility of France opening up its labor market to Polish
workers.


6. (C) The working group created at the November
governmental seminar to consider how France could liberalize
its labor market to accept Poles presented its initial draft
to the presidents (observers will recall that France adopted
the initial derogation of two years provided for during the
accession negotiations; at the expiration of those two years
-- i.e. in May 2006 -- France can extend the ban for another
three years, drop the ban, or make some other agreement with
individual new member countries). According to the proposal,
the French would not open the entire labor market to Polish
workers all at one time, but instead would open up specific
labor sectors in specific geographical locations (calling for
nurses in Auvergne, for example, or construction workers in
Brittany). The Embassy here described the reaction of the
French to the proposal as "good enough," but said the French
made it clear that with the runup to the May referendum on
the draft European constitution, it is not yet a propitious
time to consider lifting the derogations. Our MFA
interlocutor confirmed that there would be no movement before
the French referendum and added that the French would seek to
implement at least some element(s) of the proposal by May 1,
2006 (the end of the first two-year derogation),but added,
"That could mean April 30."


7. (C) The Polish Embassy characterized President Chirac as
"very positive" on trans-atlantic relations, noting that
Chirac told Kwasniewski that he sees a "new movement" on the
part of the US, and that Europe must take advantage of it.
He told Kwasniewski that after his recent meetings with the
Secretary and the President, he is convinced that President

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Bush believes it needs a "solid" Europe as a strong partner
to work with. In public remarks during the joint press
conference, Kwasniewski said that good relations between
Washington and/or Paris and Berlin are a "guarantee of
security for ourselves," and noted that the Poles welcome the
return to an active transatlantic dialogue with satisfaction.


8. (C) During the discussion of Lot's planned acquisition of
airliners, Chirac "insisted" that Poland buy Airbus,
according to the Polish embassy. In response to a query
during the press conference, Kwasniewski said that Chirac had
evoked the Airbus question in its European dimension, "that
is to say that it's a big European project that should engage
all European countries, whether it's involving production or
using the planes."


9. (C) According to the Polish Embassy, the two leaders
discussed Ukraine mainly in the context of Russia. Chirac
told Kwasniewski that it is necessary to pay attention to how
the West treats Russia and Putin, that the situation in
Russia is fragile and one must not take careless shots that
could damage progress, that steps are being made little by
little. Kwasniewski pressed back, emphasizing that Poland
can understand fragility, and that the West must remember the
fragility with which the countries of the former USSR and
Warsaw Pact emerged from decades of Soviet domination. We
can't change that history, he told Chirac. Kwasniewski also
emphasized that European policy toward Russia must be a
Union-wide, consensual policy, and not just one of Germany
and France.


10. (C) Regarding Schroeder's Munich remarks, Chirac said he
was completely in accord with them. Kwasniewski said that
whatever the outcome, NATO must remain the core element of
trans-atlantic engagement and European defense.


11. (C) Additionally, Kwasniewski petitioned Chirac to
include Poland in the five-country informal working group of
countries discussing immigration, currently comprising
France, Italy, the UK, Spain and Germany. Chirac promised to
consider the request but was non-committal, according to the
Embassy.


12. (C) Our Polish contact here was careful last fall not to
oversell to us the import of Kwasniewski's October 2004
visit. She noted that it had gone well, but it had probably
been more valuable for the strengthening of working-level
contacts as the two sides planned for that meeting, and as a
ground-breaker, rather than for any real breakthrough. In
contrast, she was very pleased with the outcome of the
summit, making it clear that the Polish Embassy in Paris sees
the rapprochement between the two states as growing more and
more solid. In the press conference, Chirac mentioned French
divergences with Poland over Iraq, noting, "That's the past."
The French press sold the story as well, with headlines
noting the "sealing" of Franco-Polish reconciliation. The
MFA desk officer, however, remained a bit skeptical,
describing the glowing descriptions of the event as a bit
"irrational." He noted President Chirac's interest in
strengthening relations with all/all of the five other EU
"grands:" Germany, the UK and Italy, but also Spain and
Poland. The French realize, as Chirac noted in his Gazeta
interview, that the French, Germans and Poles together make
up 40 percent of the EU population, and, as the desk officer
characterized it, "coalitions of the willing" are the way of
the EU-25, where groups will coalesce in specific issue areas
where they share interests (Chirac specifically pointed to
agriculture as one area during his remarks).


13. (C) The biannual Weimar Triangle meeting of the two
presidents and German Chancellor Schroeder is planned for May
19 in Nancy, although the MFA pointed out the difficulties
that meeting that date may pose, given the May 9
commemorations of the end of World War II in Moscow, the May
15 Vienna ceremonies commemorating the 50th anniversary of
Austria regaining its full sovereignty, the May 16-17 Council
of Europe Ministerial in Warsaw, the May 29 French
referendum, and the possibility of Polish legislative
elections in early June (reftel). He noted that the charged
calendar would make it very difficult for the foreign
ministers to find time to meet to prepare the Weimar Triangle
summit. The next Franco-Polish summit will occur in Spring
2006 in Poland.
Leach