Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05WARSAW3872
2005-11-18 14:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Warsaw
Cable title:  

POLISH APPROACH TO NOVEMBER 21 EU GAERC

Tags:  PREL ECON PGOV PL EUN 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 003872 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2015
TAGS: PREL ECON PGOV PL EUN
SUBJECT: POLISH APPROACH TO NOVEMBER 21 EU GAERC

REF: STATE 208899

Classified By: Political Counselor Mary Curtin, reasons 1.4b,d

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 003872

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2015
TAGS: PREL ECON PGOV PL EUN
SUBJECT: POLISH APPROACH TO NOVEMBER 21 EU GAERC

REF: STATE 208899

Classified By: Political Counselor Mary Curtin, reasons 1.4b,d


1. (SBU) Post delivered reftel demarche upon receipt and
reviewed with Polish MFA Director CFSP Beata Kolecka November

18. Kolecka provided the following outline of the Polish
government's approach to the November 21 GAERC.


2. (C) Defense Issues: Poland is in full accord with our
position and will continue to urge close cooperation between
the European Defense Agency and the U.S., and between the EU
and NATO on the Headline Goal 2010, civilian capabilities,
and civil-military planning.


3. (C) Iraq and MEPP: Kolecka indicated complete agreement
with our points on Iraq, and observed that a decision on
extension of the Polish deployment in Iraq should be made
soon by the new government, in consultation with us and the
Iraqis. She reported that Poland generally shares our
assessment of the Middle East Peace Process, and welcomed the
recent agreement opening the Rafah crossing. Kolecka stated
that Poland would like to participate in an EU monitoring
mission, but allowed that it is not yet clear whether enough
qualified Polish monitors will be available after staffing a
similar mission in Moldova. Freedom of movement for
Palestinians in East Jerusalem remains a concern of many EU
states, she noted, suggesting that the EU may propose new
measures to pressure the Israeli government to address this
issue.


4. (C) Ukraine: A brief discussion of Ukraine is expected for
the November 21 GAERC, mostly in reference to the upcoming
EU-Ukraine summit. Kolecka explained that the EU intends to
use the December 1 summit to send a positive signal to the
Ukrainian people and reinforce support for the Ukrainian
government's pro-European policies. She noted that the EU
granted Ukraine market economy status, but acknowledged that
Ukraine is unlikely to meet conditions for WTO entry in the
near future, and certainly not by the Hong Kong ministerial.
Regarding Ukraine's engagement with Belarus, Kolecka agreed
that high-level contacts may be counterproductive, remarking
that Poland had rejected Ukrainian proposals to join in
discussions with Lukashenko, but suggested that this may be a
"learning process" for the Ukrainians.


5. (C) Bosnia and Kosovo: Poland is delighted that Bosnia has
made enough progress to allow for SAA negotiations to begin
as we mark the tenth anniversary of the Dayton accords,
Kolecka said, while observing that the EU must continue to
assist Bosnian authorities in addressing their many
institutional weaknesses. She noted that, although Poland
has backed the Czech candidate to succeed Ashdown, the German
candidate must be seen as the front-runner. Poland's
position on Kosovo tracks closely with our points, Kolecka
reported, but explained that Kosovo will not be discussed at
the upcoming GAERC.


6. (C) Syria: Kolecka stated that Poland agrees entirely with
the U.S. approach on Syria, which is not currently on the
GAERC agenda. Poland has no plans to meet with the Syrian
delegation at the Barcelona Process summit, she said.


7. (C) WTO: Poland's position, supporting the European
Commission's October 28 offer, has not changed, Kolecka
reported. At this point, she said, it is difficult to
foresee a breakthrough in advance of Hong Kong and we must
begin to look toward drawing up an agenda of priorities for
next year to ensure that the process does not become
completely stalled.
HILLAS