SLOVENES FOCUSED ON BALKANS AND REGIONAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LJUBLJANA 000666

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2017
TAGS: PREL EUN NATO PGOV PHUM ENRG SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENES FOCUSED ON BALKANS AND REGIONAL
EXPANSIONS OF EU AND NATO


Classified By: Classified by CDA Maryruth Coleman for reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) Slovene officials assured visiting EUR DAS Judy
Garber October 4-5 that the GOS views the transatlantic
relationship as vital even as it becomes increasingly
immersed in the internal business of the EU Presidency.
Garber welcomed Slovenia,s Presidency and stressed that the
U.S. is looking for strong Slovene leadership on issues of
strategic interest, including in the Balkans. Senior
officials requested close cooperation with the U.S. on Kosovo
and other issues. MFA interlocutors conveyed Slovenia,s
support for NATO enlargement to include all three candidate
countries. They urged the U.S. to actively engage wavering
NATO members if it wants to achieve such a robust
enlargement. End Summary.

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Slovenes Ready to Get EU Presidency Underway
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2. (C) Senior government officials are cognizant of the
symbolism of Slovenia,s role as the first of the new
accession countries to assume the EU presidency. Deputy
Director of Slovenia's Government Office for European Affairs
Gregor Krajc said that Slovenia is watching Portugal's
progress and trying to anticipate what agenda Slovenia might
inherit. He stressed that Slovenia recognizes the need to be
flexible and improvise. Krajc noted that the EU calendar of
meetings is officially closed except for important unforeseen
events. Both he and MFA Director of EU Affairs Matej Marn
indicated that the European Council might need to hold an
informal meeting on Kosovo. They said there are currently
134 main events on Slovenia's calendar and 11 informal
ministerials will take place in Slovenia. (Note: The GOS
webpage indicates that Slovenia will preside over five
summits, of which one, the proposed U.S.-EU summit, will be
in Ljubljana; and will host eight informal ministerial
meetings and 130 sub-ministerial meetings in Slovenia. End
note.) Garber emphasized that the U.S. and Slovenia should
maintain a strong dialogue in order to effectively address
bilateral and regional issues.

Concern Over the Future of Kosovo
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3. (C) All officials raised concerns regarding the future of
Kosovo in meetings with Garber. Ambassador Roman Kirn, head
of the Division for North and Latin America and the
Caribbean, praised the U.S. for pushing the Serbs and
Kosovars to talk, and emphasized that Slovenia wants to play
a constructive and helpful role. State Secretary
Matjaz Sinkovec, seconded by the Prime Minister to oversee
European and transatlantic issues at the MFA, suggested that
the EU must "harvest carrots" and offer them to Serbia to
promote a European perspective in Serbia and in other parts
of the Western Balkans. Stanislav Vidovic, Director of the
Division for Security Policy at the MFA, and Sinkovec
separately told us that Slovenia wanted to try to get Serbia
on the EU path as quickly as possible, as it expects greater
difficulties if, as expected, Kosovo declares unilateral
independence. The British Ambassador told Garber that the
Slovene desire to speed Serbia,s EU candidacy was
understandable, but not entirely helpful to other EU
countries, efforts to press Serbia to cooperate fully with
the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague.

Energy and Climate Change Growing Issue
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4. (C) Senior officials confirmed that Slovenia expected to
tackle energy and climate change during its presidency.
Krajc stated that Slovenia hoped to move forward on three
goals: sustainability of energy supply, competitiveness, and
energy security. On energy security, Slovenia plans to focus
on internal markets for gas and electricity, as well as
identifying new sources for renewable energy in Europe (with

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a debate on whether nuclear can be considered a renewable
energy source.) Krajc added that he expected the European
Council, which will be held in March 2008, to discuss energy
and climate change issues. Russia's dominance in the
European energy sector necessitates a strong push to look for
alternative sources of energy. Many officials expressed
concern that Russia appears to be trying to influence
politics in Europe and the Western Balkans.


Eager to Host the U.S.-EU Summit
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5. (SBU) High on the agenda of the Slovene officials was
locking down a date for the U.S.-EU summit in the first
half of 2008. Ambassador Kirn referred to the GOS-proposed
dates in April and June 2008 and said the Government is
hoping for information by November 2007. A Slovene daily
surprised both Slovene and U.S. officials when it recently
announced that a U.S.-EU summit would take place in Slovenia
in March 2008. Garber clarified that the White House had not
yet decided on the summit, but that she would follow up and
provide any new information as soon as she could.

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U.S. Must Take Lead on NATO Expansion
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6. (C) Sinkovec and Vidovic expressed Slovenia,s strong
support for NATO enlargement and the accession of Croatia,
Albania and Macedonia. Both stressed the need for stronger
coordination between NATO and the EU in dealing with regional
challenges. Vidovic suggested that if the U.S. wants to have
all three candidate states accepted as NATO members, it must
engage actively with wavering NATO members to make a strong
case for the benefits of expansion. He said that in
Slovenia,s view, such enlargement would contribute to
stability in the Balkans region and encourage Serbia to move
faster towards integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.

COLEMAN