UNCLAS PRAGUE 001565

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/ERA, EB
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/EUR MIKE ROGERS
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR LISA ERRION

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD PREL EZ ECIP WTRO
SUBJECT: VISITING EUR/ERA DIRECTOR DISCUSSES CZECH EU
COORDINATION, TRADE AND WSIS WITH MFA EU AFFAIRS SECTION

Ref: Prague 1526


1. SUMMARY: Visiting EUR/ERA Director Peter Chase met with
the MFA European Union Section and inquired about internal
GOCR coordination on EU internal and external issues, and
raised the WSIS internet governance and the WTO agriculture
proposal issues. On WTO, the MFA reiterated what the
Ministry of Industry and Trade told DCM October 25, that the
GOCR supported giving EU Trade Commissioner Mendelson the
necessary negotiation room, but was not overly active in
lobbying other countries on the issue. END SUMMARY


2. EUR/ERA Director Peter Chase met separately with two
Departments under the European Union Section of the MFA:
Department of Internal Market & Related Policies and the
Department of Trade Policy and Agriculture. In both
meetings, Chase said it was in the interest of the U.S. to
have a strong Europe, and expressed the importance of the
USG working with individual EU member states on EU issues,
and not just in Brussels. He pointed to the June 2005 US-EU
Summit and the resulting transatlantic economic dialogue,
stressing that our bilateral US-EU economic agenda was
intentionally meant to reinforce and complement the internal
EU reform agenda (the Lisbon Agenda).

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MFA AS GOCR EU SECRETARIAT
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3. Frantisek Trojacek, MFA Deputy Director of the
Department of Internal Market and Related Policies,
explained that his office was created in preparation for the
Czech Republic's May 2004 EU accession to coordinate GOCR
policy on internal market, justice and home affairs, and all
sectoral policy issues except agriculture and finance. He
noted that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for EU Matters
Vladimir Muller receives the COREPER I & II agendas and
convenes an interagency EU committee meeting each Tuesday.
Trojacek speculated that one day, his office would end up in
the Prime Minister's office given the increasing need for
political leadership to mediate often conflicting position
among government ministries on specific EU internal agenda
issues.


4. Chase used Trojacek's involvement in internal market and
competitiveness issues to raise the EC internet governance
proposal at the November 16 - 18 World Summit on Information
Society (WSIS), pointing out that the EU's proposal to
impose an intergovernmental forum on the internet could have
significant negative consequences, both on internet
governance and on the Czech Republic's broader interest on
democracy and free access to information. While WSIS is an
EU external policy, it has EU competitiveness implications
and Chase urged Trojacek's office to engage on the issue.
Trojacek said the GOCR understood the issue to be still in
the COREPER "general discussion" stage and member states had
not reached the point of specific recommendations.


5. Chase asked for Trojacek's expectations from the
informal EU Council meeting in Hampton Court October 27.
Trojacek said the meeting was now going to be limited to one
afternoon, and doubted how much 25 prime ministers could
accomplish in such a short time. He said with obvious
annoyance the agenda had changed three times in the last two
weeks and that did not bode well for a successful meeting.

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CZECHS WILL HOLD THE PROGRESSIVE LINE ON AGRICULTURE
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6. On the U.S. WTO agriculture proposal, Director Chase
stressed to Deputy Director of the Department of Trade
Policy and Agriculture Kuchta the importance of member
states giving EU Trade Commissioner Mendelson the room to
put forth a proposal. Using a poker analogy, he said all
eyes were on the EU to see if it would ante up or fold.
Kuchta echoed what our Ministry of Trade contacts have said
(reftel): the Czech Republic has no problem with agriculture
liberalization in general and "will hold the line" on
pushing for negotiating room. When pressed about to what
extend the GOCR was talking to other member states on the
issue, particularly in the central European region, Kuchta
said that while the GOCR had made its position clear, it not
been overly active with other countries.


7. This cable has been cleared by EUR/ERA Director Peter
Chase. Other meetings in Prague are reported septel.

CABANISS