NO RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO GETS THROUGH COMMITTEE

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000176 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV YI KO LO SUBJECT: NO RESOLUTION ON KOSOVO GETS THROUGH COMMITTEE ¶1. (U) The parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee March 22 failed to pass any resolution on Kosovo. In a surprise move, Slovak National Party (SNS) MP Jozef Rydlo pulled out a "unified" draft text at the last minute that replaced the previously separate drafts submitted by SNS and former PM Mukulas Dzurinda's Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU). MPs from SNS, SDKU, and the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) voted for the draft, but it did not garner enough votes to pass the committee. Only MPs from the Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) supported their own (pro-Ahtisaari) proposed resolution. The draft presented by Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paska on behalf of PM Fico's Smer party received "yes" votes only from Smer and SMK MPs. Coalition partner Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) abstained on the Smer draft, saying that party chairmen had not yet agreed how their parties would vote on the various resolutions. ¶2. (SBU) Committee Chair Boris Zala (Smer) told the German Ambassador March 21 that he did not expect any resolution to get enough votes to pass either through his committee or through the plenary session on March 27. Former FM Eduard Kukan (SDKU) also told diplomats after the committee meeting that he did not expect any resolution to pass in the plenary session. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Given the anti-Ahtisaari plan stance of several of the parties here, no resolution would be a positive outcome. Both the PM and Parliamentary speaker have said they would be pleased with such and outcome. The remaining question is how former PM Vladimir Meciar's HZDS will vote. Certainly Meciar is expecting something in return for supporting PM Fico's Kosovo policy. We speculate he may be holding out for a while longer to get some leverage on other, unrelated coalition agenda items. On the other hand, HZDS has been bending over backwards to overcome its bad reputation from its corrupt, undemocratic reign in the 1990s and prove it is an acceptable, mainstream European political party now. We highly doubt Meciar would risk that improved image on Kosovo. Nonetheless, we will continue to stress to HZDS members the importance of maintaining EU unity in support of Ahtisaari. Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs Milan Urbani (HZDS) assured the Ambassador March 19 that HZDS would "not be a problem." VALLEE