SECRETARY CHERTOFF'S OCTOBER 27 VISIT TO THE CZECH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000708

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2018
TAGS: CVIS PGOV PREL EUN EZ
SUBJECT: SECRETARY CHERTOFF'S OCTOBER 27 VISIT TO THE CZECH
REPUBLIC

Classified By: Ambassador Richard Graber, E.O. 12958, reasons 1.5 (b) a
nd (d).


1. (C) Summary: During his October 27 visit to Prague, DHS
Secretary Chertoff met with embattled PM Topolanek, DPM
Vondra, Interior Minister Langer, and FM Schwarzenberg.
Czech officials were grateful for the advent of the Visa
Waiver program (VWP) and had no regrets about having
confronted the EU on it. Both the PM and FM raised the
request that the new President make an early 2009 trip to
Prague to meet with the 27 EU heads of government. While
Czech officials were clearly absorbed with the current
turmoil in Czech politics, they were just as clearly
beginning to focus on the Czech Republic,s upcoming EU
Presidency. End Summary
PM Topolanek: Tired but Relatively Upbeat
--------------


2. (C) PM Topolanek appeared tired but relatively upbeat,
given his fresh electoral defeat. He said his government
would present missile defense legislation in both houses of
parliament the following week. (In fact, for complex
political reasons, neither house has yet taken it up.)
Topolanek speculated the current political situation could
actually improve the chances for ratification, since now that
elections were over, some of the partisan rancor toward his
government might subside.

3. (C) PM Topolanek urged that the next U.S. President
attend a &informal8 meeting with all 27 EU leaders in April
in Prague; this would be an important signal for U.S.-EU
cooperation.

4. (C) Secretary Chertoff observed that the killing of the
Czech Ambassador in the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing, and
recent events in Georgia, illustrate the common threats and
objectives the U.S. and Czechs share.

5. (C) The Secretary told the PM that Czechs will be able to
travel to the U.S. without visas starting on November 17. It
will be important for Czechs to understand the Electronic
Standard Travel Authorization (ESTA). The Secretary
expressed appreciation for the leadership role the Czechs had
played in moving forward with the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
Topolanek acknowledged the Czech initiative had angered EU
officials, but &that,s life.8 The VWP had removed the
last vestiges of the Cold War, and better information sharing
would increase security and safety.

6. (C) The Secretary urged the PM to take initiative during
the Czech EU President to forge U.S.-EU agreement on privacy
and personal data protection issues.

7. (C) The PM speculated that the global financial crisis
would shift European politics to the left. Energy security
and missile defense would remain important in light of
Russian ambitions. Topolanek predicted his government would
stay in place long enough to ratify missile defense
legislation.

8. (C) PM Topolanek asked about the status of the Czech
Republic on the Special 301 Watch List. He pointed out that
the Czech government is doing its best to improved
enforcement on border areas, and he hoped that the Czech
Republic would be removed from the list in 2009. The
Ambassador replied that the U.S. and Czech government had
good exchange of information on the subject, and that the
Czech government has a clear roadmap of what it needs to do
to be removed from the list.
Czechs Prevailed Over EU on VWP
--------------


9. (C) At lunch, Deputy Prime Minister Vondra and Interior
Minister Langer thanked Secretary Chertoff and the USG for
Czech accession to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP),noting that
the effective date of November 17 is significant to Czechs as
the start of the &Velvet Revolution8 of 1989. Vondra noted
that the GOCR succeeded in negotiating VWP in spite of the
early objections of other EU states, who at first wanted to
negotiate a common US/EU visa policy, which would have
delayed the process for the aspirant countries, since the
larger EU states already participate in VWP and had no
incentive to change the program.

10. (C) Minister Langer said that the GOCR is comfortable
supporting the recent European proposal on Passenger Name
Record (PNR) data sharing between the EU and the U.S., but
German diplomats informed them that this proposal is unlikely
to pass in the current EU Parliament. Secretary Chertoff
believes that DHS can implement certain data management rules
to allow it to use EU passenger data and address EU privacy
concerns. If there is no progress on this matter soon,
however, the new U.S. President is unlikely to address it
until 2011 or 2012. DHS hopes to provide a non-binding
document of general principles to the GOCR, and hopes that an
agreement on principles will meet EU requirements. A
document should be ready in Dec. 2008, and DHS will forward
through Embassy Prague for review.

PRAGUE 00000708 002 OF 002


FM: Only Topolanek Can Keep Coalition Together
-------------- --


11. (C) With FM Schwarzenberg, Secretary Chertoff said he
was delighted that the VWP is underway. Chertoff said the
differences between the U.S. and EU on privacy and personal
data protection issues are superficial and can be resolved.
Chertoff said he hoped that general principles could be
worked out during the French EU Presidency and that more
specific agreement reached during the Czech EU Presidency.

12. (C) Schwarzenberg also strongly urged that the next U.S.
President agree to an early visit to Prague to meet with all
27 EU leaders. Chertoff replied that this would be a
decision for the incoming administration, but that he would
convey the request.

13. (C) The Ambassador asked for the FM,s assessment of
Czech government stability going into the EU Presidency.
Schwarzenberg said PM Topolanek is in a difficult position,
but Topolanek is the only person who can hold together the
current governing three-party coalition. Opposition Social
Democrat Party (CSSD) leader Jiri Paroubek is in no hurry to
take over government now, given the prospect of an economic
downturn over the next few months. The chances for the
passage of missile defense are &limited,8 the FM said,
because they depend on Topolanek keeping together the current
government coalition. The question, according to
Schwarzenberg, is whether Topolanek will survive the December
5-7 ODS party congress. Schwarzenberg predicted the effects
of the global financial crisis will be felt later and less in
the Czech Republic than in the rest of Europe.
Dinner with MPs and Officials
--------------


14. (C) At a dinner hosted by Ambassador Graber, Secretary
Chertoff had an opportunity to continue his discussion with
key Czech officials and parliamentarians, including DFM
Kohout, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee Richard Sequens, and Chairman of the Lower
Chamber,s Foreign Affairs Committee Jan Hamacek. All
participants reflected on the hard work both governments
accomplished to bring the Czech Republic into the Visa Waiver
Program. For the Czech officials present, Czech entry into
VWP represented another key milestone in the country,s
progress since the 1989 Velvet Revolution. DFM Kohout
expressed the hope that this level of bilateral cooperation
would continue.

15. (C) Secretary Chertoff agreed and noted that the good
working relations established will be especially helpful
during the Czech EU Presidency. Secretary Chertoff then
singled out the on-going effort of the US-EU High Level
Contact Group to agree on a list of key principles of data
privacy. This list remains to be formalized and while the
United States is working with the French to do so during
their EU presidency, if these items are not wrapped up by the
end of the year, Chertoff noted this work would then fall to
the Czech presidency.

16. (C) As in other meetings, Czech officials wanted to
discuss the impact of a new U.S. administration on key
foreign policy issues, among them the financial crisis,
relations with Europe, and missile defense (MD). On MD, the
Senator Sequens, a strong supporter of MD, and MP Hamacek, an
MD opponent, carried on a spirited debate about the MD system
and the process of ratification, which was just getting under
way in the Czech Republic. Although the two did not come to
an agreement, they appreciated Secretary Chertoff,s insights
about Russia and its concerns about MD.

17. (U) Secretary Chertoff has not cleared this message.
Graber