Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BERLIN3462
2006-12-08 15:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Berlin
Cable title:  

GERMAN VIEWS ON THE DECEMBER FOREIGN MINISTERS

Tags:  PREL PGOV EU GM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0424
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHRL #3462/01 3421509
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081509Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6349
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0837
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 003462 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV EU GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN VIEWS ON THE DECEMBER FOREIGN MINISTERS
MEETING

REF: A. STATE 195044

B. STATE 194456

Classified By: POL M/C John Bauman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 003462

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV EU GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN VIEWS ON THE DECEMBER FOREIGN MINISTERS
MEETING

REF: A. STATE 195044

B. STATE 194456

Classified By: POL M/C John Bauman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. SUMMARY. Embassy officers talked to numerous contacts in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chancellery about
issues that will arise during the upcoming GAERC (see
reftels) and European Council meetings. Chancellery
officials stated that Turkey's failure to fulfill its
obligations caused Chancellor Merkel to feel a future review
of its membership bid by member states at the highest level
was appropriate. Turkey's last minute bid to open some of
its ports was greeted with caution. MFA officials stated
that a large majority of member states opposed any change to
the China arms embargo and they expected no movement on this
front. MFA officials expressed increasing concern that
Russia may not be flexible in the process of determining
Kosovo's final status, and they stressed the need for greater
EU-US/NATO cooperation in Kosovo. END SUMMARY.

Turkey
--------------


2. (C) Chancellery official Geza von Geyr, Director for the
office that includes Turkey, said Chancellor Merkel's
proposal for an additional Council review of Turkey's EU bid
sometime after the fall of 2007 was motivated by frustration
that Turkey has not fulfilled its obligations and a desire to
keep control of the negotiations in the hands of the Council.
Domestic politics also required Merkel to act, since there
is growing pressure to stop negotiations from the public and
within her party according to von Geyr. Niklolaus
Meyer-Landrut, Deputy Director for the Chancellery's EU
office, expressed a commonly heard frustration that the
Chancellor's proposal was being taken out of context, but did
admit that her proposal had ramifications for Turkey's
accession that could not be clearly foreseen at this time.


3. (C) A variety of contacts at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said that Merkel's call for a new Council review of
Turkey's bid caught them by surprise, and even as of December
7 they remained uncertain about the exact nature of the
review and its consequences for Turkey's chances to join the

EU. Despite his surprise, Philipp Deichmann, deputy office
director for EU expansion at the MFA, argued that there are
no real differences between the MFA and Chancellery on Turkey
since Merkel's proposal did not fundamentally alter German
policy. Deichmann said the MFA thought the Commission
proposal to suspend 8 chapters was fair, but added that this
would not stop progress on the other chapters. He suggested
that a few of the uncontroversial chapters might be opened
during the German EU presidency in the first half of 2007.
Thomas Schieb, Deputy EU Correspondent, said Turkey's latest
proposal to open one of their ports to goods from Cyprus will
soften the mood toward Turkey at the GAERC, but said that
Foreign Minister Steinmeier will nonetheless put forward
Merkel's proposal for an additional Council review of
Turkey's progress. Scheib also voiced the often heard
frustration with the obstructionist behavior of the Cypriots.

China Arms Embargo/Code of Conduct
--------------


4. (C) MFA Export Control Division Desk Officer Jan
Freigang said that although the German Government agrees on
the need to improve the EU Code of Conduct governing arms
transfers, it shares the USG stance that the consultations on
this at the European Council meeting should not be linked to
a discussion of ending the EU arms embargo on China.
Freigang reiterated that Germany has imposed stricter
standards on what constitutes a military export to China than
the EU Code of Conduct allows. He ended by saying that
Germany is not iclined to support an end to the arms embargo
on hina.


5. (C) Thomas Schieb said the Finns wereinterested in
making the code of conduct legallybinding and decided to
bring it forward at the GERC for domestic political reasons.
In response France wanted to do away with the embargo sincethey feel a legally binding code would make the embrgo
redundant. Germany did not share this view ince they
believe China must fulfill additional criteria than those
outlined in the code of conduct before the embargo could be
lifted. Schieb stated that many other member states shared
their position and he did not expect consensus to be achieved
on either proposal.

Western Balkans
--------------


BERLIN 00003462 002 OF 002



6. (C) Wenke Crudopf, Serbia desk officer, and Schieb
expressed concern about Russian intentions as the Kosovo
status question comes to a final decision. Both expressed
frequently heard German concerns that the Russia position is
becoming less flexible and the fear that Russia might block
separating Kosovo from Serbia. Both also agreed that the
status question should be decided quickly after the Serbian
elections without waiting for the Serbs to form a new
government. Schieb said that granting Partnership for Peace
status to Serbia before it completely fulfilled its
obligations on war criminals caused some EU member states to
suggest something similar on the EU Stabilization and
Association (SAA) negotiations with Serbia. However, Crudopf
and Schieb stated that Germany was opposed to loosening the
ICTY conditionality for Serbia's SAA.


7. (C) Haedwych Hazelzet, ESDP desk officer at the MFA,
said that once Kosovo's status decision was made, the EU was
planning to deploy its largest ESDP mission to Kosovo, but
the timing of this deployment was slipping due to the Serbian
elections in January. Hazelzet said the EU was interested in
closely coordinating this mission with NATO and the United
States. Schieb said the need for coordination on this
mission and the Chancellor's desire to deepen EU-US/NATO
relations would lead Germany to propose the creation of a
formal US-EU agreement on civil crisis management during its
EU presidency.
TIMKEN JR