CZECH MEP ON REPAIRING US-EUROPE RELATIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 000026

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL IZ EZ MEPP
SUBJECT: CZECH MEP ON REPAIRING US-EUROPE RELATIONS


Classified By: Political Officer Kimberly C. Krhounek for reasons
1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. Longtime embassy contact and Member of the
European Parliament (MEP) Jana Hybaskova termed herself
shocked by the depth of anti-American feeling she has found
at European institutions such as the Council and Commission,
including knee-jerk reactions opposing any U.S. involvement
in areas of EU concern. She urged that the USG make
relations with Europe a priority, "invite" European countries
to participate more fully in Iraq and the MEPP, and make
greater use of NATO as a unifying force to achieve common
objectives. End summary.


2. (SBU) On January 4, we met with Czech MEP Jana Hybaskova
during a visit home from Brussels. A fluent Arabic and
English speaker, Ms. Hybaskova had a 15 year career with the
Czech MFA where she served as head of the Middle East
Department and as Czech Ambassador to both Slovenia and
Kuwait. While in Kuwait, she proved to be an instrumental
ally in getting coalition allies involved on the ground in
Iraq. Thanks in large part to her energy and effort, the
Czechs had up to 16 experts working for the CPA, deployed an
NBC unit and field hospital to Iraq, and launched
humanitarian assistance programs which now include training
diplomats, police and Iraqi judges. Since being elected as
one of the Czech Republic's first MEPs in June 2004, Ms.
Hybaskova has joined the Group of European People's
Party-European Democrats and chairs the Delegation for
relations with Israel, among other committee assignments.
Ms. Hybaskova has very strong views on the importance of the
transatlantic relationship, and has been one of our biggest
supporters on Middle East issues including Iraq and the MEPP.


3. (C) Hybaskova said one of the biggest shocks she received
in Brussels was seeing the depth of anti-American sentiment
within EU institutions. While the European Parliament
members are less virulent because they have such diverse
constituency needs, she found the European Commission and
Council to be "really, really anti-American." As one
example, she cited the Commission's plan to cut a program
from 20 million euros to 4 million euros, until someone made
the argument that if that particular program was cut, the
Americans would "come in and fill the gap." Immediately, the
20 million euro allotment was restored. She said that such a
simple, knee jerk reaction is very common and is routinely
used by MEPs to keep their pet projects funded.


4. (C) Hybaskova was very pleased that President Bush would
soon be traveling to Europe and hoped the visit would be seen
as a signal to Europeans that the USG values the
transatlantic relationship. She urged that the USG "invite,
and I mean really invite" European countries to be more
involved in planning and developments in Iraq and also in
Israel and the Palestinian territories, as these were still
the most sensitive issues in our relations. She said that
many Europeans are convinced that the USG only wants their
money to fund projects, but that they are not welcome at the
table to plan how best to implement important steps forward.
She further urged that the USG use NATO as a primary unifying
organization. The NATO training mission in Iraq is a good
example, as there is already a high degree of unity and
consensus at NATO, so bringing it into areas where it has
competence will make Europeans feel more involved.


5. (C) Comment. Ms Hybaskova was clearly dismayed by the
extent to which the dispute over Iraq had colored our
relationship with the most important EU institutions. Like
many Central Europeans, she holds NATO in very high esteem,
and believes that the USG will be able to achieve greater
European involvement in Iraq and other areas by essentially
"going around the EU" and operating through NATO's consensus
mechanisms. This is one way to avoid the politically charged
atmosphere in Brussels. As a long-time Arabist, Ms.
Hybaskova will continue to play an important role in Middle
East issues (she is currently planning to participate in EP
election observer missions to the Palestinian Authority and
Iraq),only now on the broader EU stage. Given her youth
(age 39) and energy, she can be one of those who will most
strongly influence these issues within the EU during the
coming years. End comment.


6. BAGHDAD MINIMIZE CONSIDERED.

HILLAS