SLOVENIA IN ADVANCE OF "LENGTHY," BUT VAGUE APRIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LJUBLJANA 000115

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2019
TAGS: PREL EUN PGOV SI
SUBJECT: SLOVENIA IN ADVANCE OF "LENGTHY," BUT VAGUE APRIL
27-28 GAERC

REF: J.GIAQUE 4/20 E-MAIL

Classified By: CDA Brad Freden, Reasons 1.4 (b,d)

Summary
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1. (C) Emboff discussed ref's points on the April 27-28 GAERC
meeting with Acting European Correspondent Jurnej Muller on
April 22. Muller commented that it was obvious that last
week was a holiday as the Czech Presidency still had not
provided background for some of the agenda items, so their
purpose was unclear. He said that the Durban Review
Conference and Sri Lanka were just added to the agenda.
According to Muller, Iran is not currently on the agenda.
Over lunch, the FMs planned to discuss the follow-up to the
Informal Summit with President Obama, Ukraine and Moldova.
End Summary.

General Affairs Agenda - Croatia Plus
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2. (C) Muller stated that the FMs would discuss the state of
negotiations with Croatia under the General Affairs section
of the agenda. He noted that the Croatian and Slovenian FMs
were meeting with EU Enlargement Commissioner Rehn today, and
he expected Slovenia to complete its position over the
weekend. Muller was unsure what the Presidency hoped to
achieve during the discussion.


3. (C) Muller said that the Presidency's preparation for the
May 8 Summit on the Southern Corridor in Prague was also on
the agenda as a point of information. He mentioned that it
would be a troika summit, and include Turkey, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia. Uzbekistan, Iraq and Egypt would participate as
observers. He added that the Presidency was still discussing
whether to invite the U.S., Russia and Ukraine.

Follow up to Informal U.S.-EU Summit
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4. (C) Muller explained that the member-states were still
waiting for more information from the Czechs as to whether
the EU wanted to focus on any specific point - if not
Afghanistan/Pakistan, then what, and whether this was a
bridge to a formal Summit. He remarked that it was still a
question for the Czech Presidency whether there would be a
formal summit in June.

Ukraine
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5. (C) According to Muller, Germany suggested that in
addition to discussing the effects of the global economic
crisis on Ukraine, already reviewed at lower levels, the
GAERC would talk about the political and security situation
in the Crimea. Germany was also concerned that the EU needs
to pay more attention to the region and prevent it from
becoming another frozen conflict. Slovenia's position was
that the EU should monitor the situation closely and think
about possible conflict-prevention or confidence-building
measures. Slovenia also shared our concerns about Ukraine's
management of the economic crisis, and believed that the EU
needed to send clear signals to the government about the
consequences of mismanagement and game-playing.

Moldova
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6. (C) Muller noted that Slovenia expected the Czech
Presidency to report on PM Topolanek's trip thi week to
Moldova. Slovenia's position was that he political and
economic stability of Moldova ws important for the stability
of the region. TheEU should encourage the government of
Moldova toapply human rights standards and to follow-up onthe deficiencies identified by ODIHR on the conduc of the
elections.

Eastern Partnership
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7. (C) Muller said the FMs would ikely not discuss the
Eastern Partnership; rathe, the Presidency would inform
member-states of the status of negotiations on the joint
statement. He reiterated the assurance that the Czechs were
inviting Belarus President Lukashenka with the expectation

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that Belarus would send its Prime Minister or Foreign
Minister instead. Slovenia believed that the Eastern
Partnership should be ambitious and take into account the
wishes/desires of the partnership countries. The EU should
foster the feeling of a joint partnership and "avoid the
perception of a teacher-student relationship." He added that
PM Pahor would represent Slovenia at the May 7 Summit.

Burma
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8. (C) Muller noted that the FMs might wait until the May
GAERC to issue conclusions on Burma; this was still being
debated. The April GAERC, however, would deal with the
rollover of sanctions.

Other Agenda Items
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9. (C) Muller predicted that the Commission would present its
main conclusions from this week's report on the
implementation of the European Neighborhood action plans.
The FMs would also discuss the Middle East Peace Process. In
addition, there would be a short point on illegal migration
in the Mediterranean; Malta wanted to explain its position
and Italy wanted to hear Malta's explanation.
FREDEN