POLAND-GERMANY: (C-RE7-00514) MERKEL'S SPRING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000691

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV PINR ENRG PL GM
SUBJECT: POLAND-GERMANY: (C-RE7-00514) MERKEL'S SPRING
VISIT STARTS A THAW

REF: WARSAW 00597

Classified By: Polcouns Mary T. Curtin for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (U) German Chancellor Angela Merkel's March 16-17 visit to
Poland was deemed a great success by both sides, and could
prove an important step in warming previously frosty
bilateral relations (reftel). By declaring opposition to the
claims of German WWII expellees on Polish land Merkel earned
gratitude across the Polish political spectrum, even though
PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski lamented that her statements still did
not go far enough. One of Merkel's top priorities was the EU
constitutional treaty, and she convinced President Kaczynski
to accept the current draft as a starting point for
negotiations, and to agree to a reference to the draft in the
Berlin Declaration at the upcoming EU summit. President
Kaczynski reportedly was firm in asserting that Missile
Defense is an appropriate U.S.-Polish bilateral endeavor, but
acknowledged Germany's "right" to express reservations about
the so-far bilateral nature of Missile Defense in Poland.
Kaczynski expressed appreciation for Merkel's support of
Poland's energy security concerns, but reportedly rejected
her offer to extend the planned Russian-German gas pipeline
to Poland. END SUMMARY.

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Arrival Speech Sets the
Right Tone
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2. (U) Chancellor Merkel set the right tone in her March 16
opening speech at Warsaw University, at which she expressed
her appreciation for Poland's role in ending communism and
declared her government's opposition to claims on Polish land
by Germans expelled in the wake of the Second World War, one
of the touchiest issues in Polish-German relations. While
many political leaders, such as Sejm Deputy Mateusz Piskorski
of the populist Self Defense party (SO),were very positive
about Merkel's pledge, the PM, President, and others insisted
her words did not go far enough. Bronislaw Komorowski of
Citizens Platform (PO) took a more demanding tone that was
later reiterated by PM Kaczynski. Both said they appreciated
Merkel's statement but thought she should undertake to change
German law so as to completely prohibit such claims against
Poland. President Kaczynski further added that he did not
raise the issue in the March 16-17 meetings, but said he
favored a joint declaration by the two governments on the
issue.


3. (U) Merkel also signaled in her speech the importance of
moving forward on the EU constitutional treaty, declaring
that the time for reflection on the EU Constitution had
passed while the time for action had come. She also
emphasized the importance of further EU integration and
improvements in EU competitiveness, and reaffirmed the
importance Germany attaches to NATO. Her words were
generally well-received. Sejm Deputy Wojciech Olejniczak,
leader of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) echoed Merkel's
call when he noted that, "There is no time to waste as Angela
Merkel has expressed her understanding that by 2009 the most
important decision regarding the future of the European Union
must be undertaken." The Catholic nationalist League of
Polish Family's (LPR) Wojciech Wierzejski, however,
maintained his party's "skepticism" and declared that Poland
"is not at fault" in this disagreement.

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Extended Talks Friendly
With Progress on EU Constitution
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4. (U) On day two, at the President's seaside retreat in
Jurata, Lech Kaczynski and Angela Merkel came to agreement on
the basis for discussing a future EU Constitution. President
Kaczynski promised that Poland would sign the Berlin
Declaration at the upcoming summit, which accepts the current
text as the basis for negotiation, even though it lacks
Poland's hoped-for statement on Europe's common Christian
heritage. He went on to declare that Poland would
enthusiastically join work on the EU Constitution in return
for Chancellor Merkel's promise to include a statement on
shared energy security, and added that he did not want Poland
to be the only hold-out country.


5. (C) Before her arrival, Merkel had declared that Missile
Defense should be a NATO-wide project undertaken in close
consultation with Russia, raising concerns that MD would be a
contentious issue during the visit. MFA Security Policy

WARSAW 00000691 002 OF 002


Director Robert Kupiecki told DCM that the president held
firm on Poland's position that the project was a valid
bilateral undertaking, while acknowledging Merkel's point
that it would be useful to have further consultations on the
broad subject at NATO. In his press statements President
Kaczynski noted that, "Our ally and neighbor has the right to
question and present their arguments," but that ultimately
Missile Defense is a bilateral issue.


6. (U) Energy security was also on the table, with
Kaczynski convincing Merkel that the constitutional treaty
should include reference to it. However, nothing was
resolved on the contentious issue of the planned
Russian-German gas pipeline, which would bypass Poland by
running under the Baltic Sea. Kaczynski reportedly rejected
Merkel's offer to have the pipeline extended from Germany to
Poland, an offer previously made by Germany and rejected by
Poland because it would do nothing to lessen Poland's
dependence upon Russian supplies.


7. (C) COMMENT: Merkel's stated opposition to German claims
on Polish land, Poland's support for the Berlin Declaration
and the EU Constitution, and the apparent calmness of the
agreement to disagree on Missile Defense signal a first step
in the much hoped-for improvement in German-Polish relations.
Our German and Polish interlocutors, as well as the press in
both countries, have all declared Merkel's visit a success
and noted the feeling of "friendship" that prevailed in the
Merkel-Kaczynski meetings. Given the problems previously
caused by the Kaczynskis' prickliness over relations, the
pressure drop in German-Polish relations triggered by
Merkel's visit may indicate the awakening of spring between
Berlin and Warsaw. There are some tough issues and
sensitivities that remain, but the visit demonstrated a
recognition on both sides of the importance to both countries
of positive relations. END COMMENT.
ASHE