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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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 LJUBLJANA 00000115 002 OF 002 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 -------------- ¶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 -------------- ¶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