CZECH REPUBLIC NOT SUPPORTIVE OF SEPARATE IPR OR

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000870 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/NCE AND EUR/ERA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON PREL EZ EUN SUBJECT: CZECH REPUBLIC NOT SUPPORTIVE OF SEPARATE IPR OR ENERGY DECLARATIONS AT U.S.-EU SUMMIT REF: STATE 106113 ¶1. (SBU) Post delivered reftel points to oficials at the Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Czechs are sending Ivana Holubkova (Deputy Director of the Americas Department in the MFA) and Zuzana Skalna (of the MFA trade and agriculture policy section) to Brussels on June 7 to deal with preparations for the Summit. Also key to the discussion will be Blanka Fajkusova of the Czech Mission to the EU. ¶2. (SBU) Ladislava Votavova, Director of the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy and the EU Common Trade Policy at the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the Czech Republic's new 133 Committee titulaire, replacing Otomar Louda, who has reluctantly retired from the Ministry. Votavova shared with us Czech Republic's agreed position on the Summit declaration, prepared for use by Votavova in the 133 Committee and in COTRA. The text of this document has been e-mailed to USEU and EUR/ERA. ¶3. (SBU) The Czech position does not support the two supplemental declarations sought by Washington. Nevertheless, we have urged their inclusion to Votavova, Holoubkova and Skalna. We also urged the deletion of references to investment and the like, and emphasized the U.S. desire to keep the tone of the final document as positive as possible. Skalna said that there is very little, if any, support among the member states for the separate IPR document. The Czechs want the document to be unified, action oriented and concise. ¶4. (SBU) The most important thing to the Czechs is as usual their desire for a waiver of visas, as applies to some other EU countries. The Czechs support the creation of a Regulatory Cooperation Forum, so long as it allows for significant input from the member states. They also support continued negotiations for an air transport services agreement, EU efforts to remove perceived market access barriers at the U.S. state and local level, and strengthening of the U.S.-EU Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue. The Czechs view IPR and energy cooperation as important, but apparently not sufficiently so that they automatically support separate declarations on those subjects. CABANISS