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

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Summary
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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.

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U.S.-EU COORDINATION
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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

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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.

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IAEA
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DG Selection/Term Limits
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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
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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
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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

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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
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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.

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CTBTO / Wassenaar
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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

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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.

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UNODC
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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

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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.

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COPUOS (Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space)
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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.

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UNIDO
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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