GERMANS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RELATIONS WITH POLAND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001663 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EPET SENV PL GM SUBJECT: GERMANS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RELATIONS WITH POLAND FOLLOWING CONSULTATIONS REF: A. WARSAW 01395 ¶B. WARSAW 01392 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JOHN KOENIG FOR REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND ( D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. MFA and Chancellery contacts viewed Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski's visit to Berlin on December 5-6 and the bilateral government consultations in Warsaw on December 8 as the culmination of a year's worth of hard work by both countries to improve relations. However, Germany is wary of Sikorski,s potential emergence as a candidate to be the next NATO Secretary General. Overall, contacts viewed current relations with Poland as "constructive" and "issue-oriented" rather than being bogged down by history. Despite this upbeat perspective, MFA contacts voiced the concern that the controversy surrounding the new German Foundation for Refugees and Expellees will tarnish relations. On the policy side, the EU's Climate Change and Energy Package remained a source of contention during the consultations in Warsaw, but MFA officials hoped that the consultations had decreased the likelihood that Poland would "veto" the package at the December 11-12 EU Summit. Steinmeier and Sikorski in Berlin focused on the EU's new Eastern Partnership, including a short discussion of how to handle Russia in the context of that partnership. The consultations addressed additional topics, including several anniversaries in 2009. Steinmeier and Sikorski did not meet much during the consultations in Warsaw as they had a full calendar together last week in Berlin. Seven ministers from Germany attended the consultation: foreign affairs, defense, interior, economic affairs, environment, education, and health. German Reluctance on a Pole as the Next NATO SecGen ¶2. (C) Notwithstanding Sikorski's recent efforts to take a more balanced approach toward Russia (ref A),German MFA contacts describe him as "hawkish" and too hard on Russia. MOD Director of Public Policy Ulrich Schlie (please protect) asked Charge on December 10 that the U.S. not push Sikorski as a candidate for NATO Secretary General. Although Hartmann was unwilling to state MFA's opposition to a potential Sikorski candidacy, Hartmann argued that Sikorski had too many important duties in Warsaw to move to Brussels. Hartmann acknowledged that Sikorski would be a "credible and natural candidate" given his background as defense minister and current position, but emphasized that Germany would have to evaluate the candidacy carefully. At this time, Poland had not approached Germany regarding Sikorski as a candidate, according to Hartmann. Sikorski said in an interview to a German paper during his visit to Berlin that he was not campaigning for the job, but argued that selecting a new Secretary General from eastern Europe would send "the right signal." MOVING FORWARD WITHOUT CONSTANTLY LOOKING BACKWARD ¶3. (C) Contacts in Berlin and Warsaw (ref B) viewed the positive atmospherics during Sikorski's visit and the consultations as symbolizing the increased tendency for German-Polish relations to be pragmatic and issue-oriented rather than focusing on history, which dominated bilateral relations under former Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. MFA and Chancellery contacts emphasized that Chancellor Merkel had visited Poland four times this year. In addition, they pointed to the first bilateral consultations occurring in roughly three years, the first awarding of the German-Polish Prize to NGOs for assisting bilateral relations since 2006, and the first joint speech by the German and Polish Foreign Ministers to the German-Polish Forum since 2006. ¶4. (C) Moreover, Steinmeier and Sikorski on December 5 welcomed the European Court of Human Rights September decision to reject the Prussian Trust's compensation claims for property lost by German post-WWII expellees from Poland. Steinmeier said this resolved the issue and "there are no open property claims between Poland and Germany," according to MFA Deputy Division Head for Central Europe Frank Hartmann. Hartmann informed poloff that the MFA viewed this decision as a symbol of relations "focusing on the future." Significant progress also was made on a joint history textbook, which MFA and Polish Embassy contacts expect to be ready as early as 2011 and no later than 2013. Hartmann related that the MFA overall considers the "firm" German response to the war in Georgia as helping to overcome the Polish suspicion that Germany "plays the old Russia card" or is too soft on Russia. ¶5. (C) This pragmatic approach was somewhat weakened by the BERLIN 00001663 002 OF 003 controversy surrounding the new German Foundation for Refugees and Expellees, whose establishment the Bundestag formally approved on December 4. Polish concern centers around "one specific person attached to the project," as Sikorski put it at a public event on December 5. Specifically, Bundestag Member Erika Steinbach (CDU) has a position on the Foundation's board, but she is also the president of an organization for German expellees, which has often irritated the Poles in the past. Although Polish Embassy contacts argued that they were largely neutral on the Foundation itself, Steinbach's presence reflects a larger disagreement over how the historical issues should be addressed. Although the MFA appears prepared to support Steinbach's removal, Chancellor Merkel opposed such a move, according to Hartmann. EU CLIMATE CHANGE PACKAGE ¶6. (C) Chancellery Senior Director for Security Affairs Geza von Geyr told Charge that the private discussion between Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Tusk (with one interpreter) ran almost 75 minutes long, forcing the larger plenary session to be shortened. The central theme in the private discussion was the EU climate change package, where some progress was made. Merkel and Tusk did not discuss Russia nor missile defense, according to von Geyr. ¶7. (C) German Embassy officials in Warsaw reported that Merkel and Tusk laid out their respective positions and "did not negotiate" on the EU package. Tusk continued to push for a "solidarity mechanism," which would allow governments to use EU funds to finance modernization of the energy sector, according to Embassy Warsaw. Berlin remained opposed to the proposal, according to Hartmann. However, Hartmann related that tension regarding power plants eased somewhat, approaching a solution where old Polish coal power plants would have a "derogation period", while new German clean and more expensive power plants would be protected from cheap Polish energy. The larger plenary meeting was friendly and relaxed, and the climate package remained the focus of the discussion, according to Embassy Warsaw. Launching the Eastern Partnership and Addressing Russia ¶8. In Berlin, Steinmeier and Sikorski discussed the Polish-Swedish proposal for a new Eastern Partnership (EP), which the European Commission has endorsed. According the Hartmann, the EP would not replace the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP),but rather serve as a tool for implementing ENP. Hartmann informed poloff that the EP will receive 350 million euros for programs, but an early draft contained a figure of 600 million, which the Poles would prefer. According to Hartmann, the larger figure does not fit into the EU's current fiscal framework (through 2013). Germany would be willing to discuss increasing funding in 2011, when a new budget is negotiated. Although Hartmann recognized that 350 million for the proposed six countries in EP is not a large amount, he argued that current financial conditions limit funds. ¶9. (C) Steinmeier and Sikorski only addressed Russia in the context of the EP, according to Hartmann. Steinmeier proposed that Russia be included in "sectoral possibilities" in the EP. For instance, the EP could help improve the modernization of a border crossing at Kaliningrad, which Sikorski agreed was in Poland's interest. Sikorski also gave a newspaper interview in Berlin, where he addressed Russian President Medvedev's proposal for a new European security architecture. Sikorski said it would be a mistake to replace a functioning security system, which had given Poland freedom and stability, with something nebulous and ill-defined. He also said that the Russians should be reminded that their new proposal would not liberate them from their obligations under the OSCE, CFE and COE. Celebrating Anniversaries in 2009 ¶10. (C) The consultations set several dates for commemorating next year's many anniversaries, according to MFA contacts here and in Warsaw. Representatives from Solidarity will come to Berlin in February to celebrate the first roundtable in former East Germany. Plans are underway for a memorial to be placed in the Reichstag building, recognizing the Polish contribution to the fall of the Wall, but contacts were uncertain as to whether the unveiling would occur in February or later in the spring. Merkel also will travel to Warsaw on June 4 to celebrate the anniversary of the first free elections in eastern Europe after the fall of communism. Merkel will travel to Gdansk on September 1 for the 70th anniversary of the onset of WWII. BERLIN 00001663 003 OF 003 Financial Crisis, Children of Divorced Parents ¶11. (C) According to German diplomats in Warsaw, there was no discussion of the Nordstream pipeline or Polish access to the German labor market. Merkel and Tusk reportedly discussed the financial crisis and Polish-German child custody disputes that have been featured prominently in the Polish press. Merkel and Tusk remained opposed to large-scale stability packages at this time. German diplomats in Warsaw said Germany is headed for the deepest recession in the post-WWII era, which will have a significant effect on the Polish economy. Merkel and Tusk briefly discussed the eight child custody disputes that have been featured in the press, where German courts have not permitted Polish parents to speak with their children during supervised visits because of kidnapping concerns and the lack of Polish-speaking German social workers. Both sides agreed the issue is "relatively minor" given that there only have been eight cases out of the approximately 100,000 Polish-German marriages in the past 15 years. ¶12. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Warsaw. Koenig