INCOMING CZECH EU PRESIDENCY SIGNALS ENTHUSIASM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 UNVIE VIENNA 000660 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN, IO/T, INL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2018 TAGS: AORC PARM MNUC KNNP ETTC KSTC SNAR KCOR IR SY SUBJECT: INCOMING CZECH EU PRESIDENCY SIGNALS ENTHUSIASM FOR VIENNA ISSUES COORDINATION REF: A) BRUSSELS 1910 B) THE HAGUE 1013 Classified By: Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte for reasons 1.4 b and d -------------- Summary -------------- 1.(C) Mission discussed upcoming issues for Vienna-based international organizations during the first semester of 2009 with the incoming Czech EU Presidency on December 15. The Czech Republic welcomed early consultation with the U.S., and outlined priorities for its Presidency, focusing on those relevant to Vienna organizations, economics, energy, and "the EU in the world," (in addition to advancing Common Foreign and Security Policy.) With regard to the IAEA, the Czechs were in general agreement with the U.S. on non-proliferation issues. Permrep Ivan Pocuch advised that the Czechs would continue to work closely with France and the EU-3 on Iran, and assured that there would be no softening in the Czech position. However, he noted that another round of EU sanctions may not be practicable due to the positions of some EU members. The Czechs also agreed fully with the U.S. on Syria and were concerned that the IAEA investigation not be sidetracked onto the examination of Israeli munitions. The local Czech Mission was also open to the idea of using the draft EU Association Agreement with Syria to leverage cooperation with the IAEA investigation and undertook to consult with the French. The EU is anxious not to repeat the divisive debate in the IAEA General Conference on Middle East Safeguards, and the Czechs agreed with U.S. Mission that early consultations with Egypt and other Middle East countries were necessary. The Czechs expected that Sweden, EU President in the second half of 2009, will play a prominent role on this issue. The Czechs are also supportive of a term limit for the next IAEA Director General (DG) and commented that among the eight EU Board members, most seemed to favor Japanese Governor Amano as the next DG, but each would vote independently rather than as a bloc. 2.(C) The Czech Republic, Sweden, and France will undertake a full court press on countries that have not yet ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),including the U.S. The EU, because of its commitment to CTBTO, is also unwilling to consider a reduction of the Provisional Technical Secretariat's budget in 2009. The EU seeks to avoid another debate on Palestinian observership at CTBTO. For UNODC, the Czech Republic noted differences between U.S. and EU positions on demand reduction and "harm reduction" in the negotiations for the 2009 political declaration and related action plan for the review of the UNGA Special Session (UNGASS) resolution. The Czechs invited our Mission to provide acceptable wording on the "harm reduction" issue and said they would try to "sell it" within the EU. The U.S. and EU shared essentially the same position on UNODC finance/governance issues and on UNCAC and UNTOC issues for the next Crime Commission in April. On the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Czechs expressed some concern about upholding the principle of term limits for the Head of Secretariat and agreed that close consultations on this issue with the Plenary Chair (Canada) were needed. ¶3. (C) These pre-Presidency consultations were among the most collaborative in tone that Mission has conducted with incoming EU Presidencies. The Czechs conveyed a commitment to consult and prevent divisions or inconsistencies between our respective approaches to issues of either policy or management in the Vienna agencies. End Summary. -------------- U.S.-EU COORDINATION -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Schulte, DCM and UNVIE Counselors met informally with Czech Mission counterparts on December 15 to preview areas of cooperation in Vienna-based organizations during the Czech EU Presidency. Drawing on common themes, Ambassador Schulte sought close and early consultation and cooperation with the EU, and noted the need to identify issues before they became fixed EU positions. Czech Ambassador Pocuch welcomed early consultation with the U.S., acknowledging that it was sometimes difficult to come to an UNVIE VIEN 00000660 002 OF 005 EU common position, never mind changing it. He outlined three priority areas for the Czech Presidency: energy, "the EU in the world," and economics, and saw the first two as especially relevant to Vienna organizations in addition to advancing Common Foreign and Security Policy. In order to emphasize the EU's "Europe without Borders" slogan, the Czechs will focus on Eastern partnerships and reach out to former Soviet countries, including problematic Belarus. The Czechs will also seek intensified dialogue with Israel with the hope of having the first Israel/EU Summit during their Presidency. 5.(SBU) With a small (though temporarily augmented) mission that is also responsible for OSCE affairs, the Czechs will manage their Presidency in Vienna with help; Ambassador Pocuch shared a list of "chefs de file." For UNODC issues, Germany will lead on governance, program, and budget; France and Spain will lead on preparations of the Conference of Parties for UNTOC; Finland will lead on the Crime Commission and criminal justice/violence against women, Portugal will lead on cocaine trafficking routes through West Africa, and Sweden will lead on UNCAC issues. Italy will lead on EU cooperation with UNIDO on energy issues. The UK will lead on the IAEA 2020 Report consultations and France will lead on multilateral nuclear fuel assurances. No leads have been named for UNODC terrorism issues, IAEA Technical Cooperation or COPUOS space affairs. -------------- IAEA -------------- DG Selection/Term Limits -------------- 6.(C) UNVIE IAEACouns reviewed the non-proliferation, nuclear energy and country-specific agenda items for upcoming Board meetings in March and June. With respect to the February Program and Budget Committee, he anticipated that the U.S. would continue to limit growth in the short term, though there was the prospect of a debate over more resources for the Agency under the new administration. He noted the U.S. expected the DG election would dominate Board deliberations during most of the Czech Presidency. The WEOG had met with South African Governor Minty to discuss his candidacy, and the same invitation has been extended to Amano; moreover, Geneva Group ambassadors would request to meet with both candidates to discuss budget and management issues. Pocuch said of the eight EU Board members most seem to support Amano but that a EU common position was unlikely as EU members vote their national positions with respect to UN candidacies. U.S. side also raised term limits in conjunction with the forthcoming DG election and asked for EU support on pushing the issue forward. Pocuch was aware of the issue and seemed to think it would be appropriate to i nstitute a two-term limit for the DG. Reliable Access to Nuclear Fuel -------------- 7.(U) IAEACouns noted with appreciation the EU's 25 million euro contribution to the NTI challenge grant to establish an international fuel bank. Counselor stressed the importance of RANF and the U.S. hope that the Board would have one or more concrete proposals from the Secretariat to weigh in its March meeting. Ambassador Pocuch did not comment on the fuel bank directly but previewed energy plans under the Czech Presidency, noting that energy security would be a top priority along with the unification of the EU energy market. This effort would culminate in a Southern Corridor Summit (27 plus six),which Prague would announce shortly. Ambassador Pocuch underscored that overdependence on Russia as an energy supplier is not feasible for the EU in the future. He also said that the Czech Republic would use national funds for UNIDO projects in the nuclear energy sector. Non-proliferation Issues: Iran, Syria, DPRK -------------- 8.(C) There was no divergence on views on nonproliferation issues. IAEACouns stressed the importance of EU statements in the Board of Governors on Iran and Syria, including as a UNVIE VIEN 00000660 003 OF 005 counterpoint to the NAM. Ambassador Schulte added that there has been some variance in the strength of EU Board statements on Iran under different EU Presidencies, but was reassured by the strong Czech national position. Pocuch assured him there would be no softening with respect to Iran and that the Czech Presidency would follow the lead of the EU-3 "vanguard." He would seek French Permrep Deniau's advice on Iran, in particular. However, Pocuch downplayed any expectation of another round of EU sanctions on Iran due to the opposition of some EU members. The Czechs would not reopen the debate during their Presidency unless the EU-3 chose to do so. (Note: Pocuch was speaking in general terms so it was not clear if he was referring to the expanded list of designations currently under discussion in Brussels per ref a, or future EU sanctions. End note.) 9.(C) Ambassador Schulte said the U.S. would continue to call for a follow-up report and insist on Syria being an agenda item in upcoming Board meetings. He stressed the goal of drawing Syria away from Iran and that Damascus should be convinced not to adopt the Iranian posture of non-cooperation. In this regard, the EU had great leverage over Syria and should exercise pressure. Ambassador Schulte noted the recent initialing of an EU-Syria Association Agreement, which may be signed during the first half of 2009, and suggested that the EU use the agreement to elicit cooperation from Syria in advance of the March Board. Pocuch was not familiar with the EU Association Agreement but took this suggestion on board and planned to consult with France. He also asked about U.S views on how to deal with questions of Israel's cooperation with the Syria investigation. Ambassador Schulte noted that the IAEA Secretariat had acknowledged during the pre-Board technical briefing that the uranium at the Al-Kibar site was not depleted, but had nevertheless written to Israel for clarification. Pocuch fully agreed with Ambassador Schulte that the focus should be kept on Syria's cooperation with the investigation. ¶10. (C) On DPRK, IAEACouns noted that the main stumbling block in the Six Party process was the verification protocol, and that the DPRK has opposed giving the IAEA an important role. Pocuch asked whether the DPRK had resumed cooperation on disablement. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) The local Czech Mission is in general agreement with the U.S. on priority issues at the IAEA, and will endeavor to be helpful, though their leverage over potentially recalcitrant EU Board members such as Spain, will be limited (Note: The Czech Republic is not on the Board of Governors. End Note.) On both Iran and Syria, the Czechs will take their cues from outgoing EU-President France, in particular, which can be expected to provide necessary "back-up" as part of the EU-troika and EU-3. The French can also be expected to treat the Czech Presidency as an extension of their own tenure in these priority areas. With appreciation for the Dutch concern over Czech inexperience in dealing with Iran (ref b),our local Czech counterparts betrayed no illusions and emphasized the need for Iranian compliance with its IAEA obligations. -------------- CTBTO / Wassenaar -------------- ¶12. (C) Stressing that CTBT ratification remains one of the highest priorities for the EU, and that it has been a key initiative of three successive Presidencies, Pocuch and his Counselor for CTBTO issues reported that the EU planned to demarche countries on ratification. This initiative, added Pocuch, would include demarches to the U.S. Noting that the EU would hold a series of high-level meetings focused on Annex II countries, the Czechs advised that the EU would ensure discussion of CTBT ratification was included in traditional conferences. Ambassador Schulte noted that the President-elect has stated that he would support CTBT ratification, but that it remained unclear what implications are associated with this position. ¶13. (C) Along with the push for ratification, the EU will UNVIE VIEN 00000660 004 OF 005 continue to support the buildup of the International Monitoring System (IMS),especially in regions currently not well-covered. The EU will also continue its focus on encouraging noble gas capacity building and the radionuclide monitoring project. To this end, the EU has provided 2. 3 million Euros for the former and 1.67 for the latter. The Czechs stressed their support for the expansion of CTBT verification capabilities. The Czechs acknowledged that post-certification activities were costly, the stations were expensive to maintain, and it was not clear who pays for what. That being said, the Czechs stressed that the EU will not support a budget reduction. ¶14. (C) With regard to the issue of Palestinian observer status in the CTBTO, the Czechs noted the divisiveness of the issue at the last Prepcom, mostly, stated Pocuch, due to Egyptian manipulation behind-the-scenes. The EU will endeavor to work to help ensure that this issue does not undermine the technical nature of the CTBTO. Indeed, as Pocuch noted rather ironically, CTBTO observer status could hardly be one of highest priorities of the Palestinian leadership. DCM observed that Swedish Permanent Representative Ludstrom deserved kudos for his deft handling of Middle East issues in the CTBT and expressed his hope that Ludstrom would do the same at the IAEA's General Conference in his EU Presidency role in September. Alluding to a recent Egyptian letter of complaint to the EU, the Czechs agreed that early engagement with Cairo would be helpful to avoiding another IAEA General Conference confrontation. ¶15. (C) On the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA),the Czechs agreed with our position that outreach is an important WA element and looked forward to receiving further information regarding the U.S./Canada proposal on outreach to non-WA participating states on changes to the WA control lists. With regard to an extension for the WA Head of Secretariat, Pocuch indicated the general EU belief that two terms is an important principle to uphold. He agreed with the need to consult closely with the Plenary Chair, Canada through the course of ¶2009. -------------- UNODC -------------- ¶16. (SBU) Since June 2008, member states have held five intergovernmental working groups to conduct the 10-year review on implementing the 1998 UNGA Special Session (UNGASS) resolution to combat drugs, comprising a political declaration and an action plan. The working groups had produced a draft action plan with extensive bracketed language. One of the most difficult issues is the "demand reduction" language of the U.S. versus the "harm reduction" language of the EU. The March 2009 Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) will have a high-level segment to consider a political declaration and adopt the draft action plan that will reaffirm their 1998 precedents while identifying past deficiencies and proposing ways forward. Ambassador noted that INL Assistant Secretary David Johnson, in a recent visit to Vienna, warned against any false assumption that could jam up the March CND and high-level segment. DCM stressed that a U.S.-EU confrontation on this issue would be unhelpful. UNA Counselor stressed political realities, noting that the EU would never get consensus on the "harm reduction" language because of opposition not only from the U.S., but also from Russia, Japan, Canada, and several G-77 and GRULAC countries. Petr Havlik, Czech Counselor for UNODC affairs, asked for alternative language which he would relay to EU members. Both sides agreed to coordinate closely on this issue. 17.(SBU) Regarding finance and governance of the UNODC, UNA Counselor stressed that the U.S. prefer an informal working group to continue discussions, because such a group would not have any resource implications. According to Havlik, EU would also want an informal forum for such issues, although some EU members - France and Spain, for example - prefer a more formal structure. 18.(SBU) Counselor highlighted Afghanistan counternarcotics as the top U.S. priority in our work with the UNODC, and expressed our desire for continued cooperation with the EU on this front. In response to Havlik's question, UNA Counselor UNVIE VIEN 00000660 005 OF 005 told him that the MOU on the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center (CARICC) would soon go into force, since a fourth state had recently ratified it. On a more recent development, Ambassador expressed support for UNODC's anti-piracy proposal to offer legal training to affected governments. -------------- -------------- COPUOS (Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space) -------------- -------------- ¶19. (SBU) Ambassador Pocuch and Havlik raised the issue of the chairmanship of the legal subcommittee of COPUOS, which would rotate to the Eastern European Regional Group in 2010. Havlik argued that the Czech Republic is the most developed country in that regional group, has been a member (and the only Easter European member) of the European Space Agency since November, and would field a distinguished space scientist for the position. Ambassador Pocuch noted that the Czech candidate, along with others from Hungary, Ukraine, and Romania, would first have to convince the regional group. All the candidates would present their case to the regional group in February for its decision. -------------- UNIDO -------------- ¶20. (SBU) Havlik advocated for the U.S. to rejoin UNIDO, saying that it is now a totally different organization. A Czech priority is sustainable energy resource and it works with UNIDO "on the local level" on this issue. He underlined that current UNIDO chief Kandeh Yumkellah would apply for a second term in 2009. Ambassador discouraged Czech expectations of rapid change in U.S. policy on this matter, noting the fierce competition for IO resources. SCHULTE