CZECH EU PRESIDENCY: COMMENTS ON UPCOMING FEBRUARY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRAGUE 000103

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

EUR/ERA WLUCAS, EUR/CE FOR ATRATENSEK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2014
TAGS: EUN EZ PGOV PREL IS SU HR XG
SUBJECT: CZECH EU PRESIDENCY: COMMENTS ON UPCOMING FEBRUARY
GAERC

REF: A. 19 FEBRUARY PRAGUE DAILY

B. 17 FEBRUARY WEISFIELD E-MAIL

Classified By: Deputy POLEC Counselor Martina Strong for reasons 1.4 (b
) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: On February 20 emboff spoke with Magdalena
Janesova of the Czech MFA Department of Common Foreign and
Security Policy in advance of the February 23-24 EU General
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC). Of note were
her comments on: Gaza, Afghanistan, the Western Balkans, the
Eastern Partnership Initiative and Sudan. End Summary.

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EU Engagement on Gaza; Will Condemn Adam Settlement
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2. (SBU) Janesova noted that as EU co-sponsor of the March 2
Conference on Humanitarian Assistance in Sharm al-Sheik,
Czech FM Schwarzenberg will attend and speak at the event.
Preparations for this event will be the central focus of FM
Schwarzenberg's meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas on
February 22 (Ref A). The Czechs also noted that there should
be an opportunity to hold a Quartet meeting on the margins of
this event. Regarding the possibility of a Hamas-Fatah
"technocratic government," Janesova noted that like the U.S.,
engagement with Hamas is a Quartet Principle redline the EU
does not plan to cross.


3. (C) On a related note, Janesova stated that the EU has
demarched Israel about the Adam settlement and that Israel
Deputy Director General for Europe, Rafi Barak, has confirmed
now that Israel has established the Adam settlement. This
settlement is 800-900 meters from any other existing
settlement, and according to Janesova, the EU is working on a
declaration condemning this step and calling for Israel to
reconsider since the EU considers this a "clear violation of
the roadmap." While this declaration is still being
circulated within the EU, she commented that at the moment it
is "quite strong."

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Afghanistan
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4. (SBU) Janesova noted that the EU is in accord with the
U.S. on what is needed to achieve success in Afghanistan -
civilian sector assistance, including election support,
governance and rule of law reform, police reform and
long-term development. She indicated that there will be a
broad discussion of these elements by the FMs on February 23.
With respect to the EU Police Mission (EUPOL),she stated
that there is a "force generation" document that the FMs will
discuss, which makes 12 recommendations on how to get from
180 EUPOL staff to the full compliment of 400. She noted,
however, that the real difficulty has always been convincing
people (particularly civilians) to join missions, especially
when they face difficulties getting their original jobs back
upon their return.

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Informal PD Luncheon - to discuss staffing EU civilian
missions
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5. (SBU) Janesova noted that the Czechs are planning for the
EU Political Directors to informally discuss EU civilian
expert missions more broadly over lunch on February 23. She
noted that while the difficulties standing up EUPOL in
Afghanistan may have triggered the need to discuss this
topic, there are broader implications. She cited anticipated
difficulties recruiting new people for the EU monitoring
mission in Georgia, which is not quite so "sexy" a mission
any more. According to Janesova, the EU has a real problem
recruiting judges and police for Africa. Rhetorically she
queried, "How do you convince an European judge to work on
rule of law issues in Congo or Guinea-Bissau?"

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The Western Balkans - Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia,
Macedonia and Montenegro
--------------

6. (SBU) Kosovo: In response to our query about the EULEX
operational capability, Janesova noted that it was likely to
reach full operational capability only around the end of
March. The Czechs agree that customs, courts and police
remain key issues. Janesova indicated that the EU is paying
attention to the institutionalized coordination, particularly
as it relates to ICR Feith and EULEX HOM de Kermabon. She
also commented that the EU has noticed an improvement in
coordination and the Feith has the full backing of the EU.


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5. (SBU) Serbia: Janesova commented that related to the
establishment of an office in Belgrade, Peter Sorensen
technically is not the personal representative of Solana, but
rather a representative of EULEX based in Belgrade. The EU,
however, is fine letting Belgrade think of Sorensen as
Solana's personal representative. On the issue of the
Serbian Stabilization and Association Agreement, the Czechs
note the Dutch remain steadfast on the need for Serbian
compliance with the ICTY before they will support any further
movement on the SAA. She noted that all the way up through
Czech PM Topolanek, they have engaged the Dutch. She
suggested that if the USG would like to see movement in this
area, we too might want to engage the Dutch and Belgians.
She also noted that PM Topolanek will engage German
Chancellor Angela Merkel in a discussion of the Western
Balkans on February 22 in Berlin.


6. (C) Bosnia: Janesova noted that with the upcoming Peace
Implementation Council (PIC) scheduled for March, the EU
recognizes that it will be difficult to come to agreement to
close the Office of the High Representative (OHR). The EU
recognizes the lack of progress on the "5 plus 2" objectives,
and USG concern about State and Defense property. Signaling
that the EU may see things slightly differently than the USG,
Janesova commented that there may be room for nuance when it
comes to the State and Defense property since what
constitutes a "sustainable solution" is very much open to
interpretation. She did reaffirm that the EU wants to see
the OHR closed soon, and pointed to the June PIC as the next
most reasonable time frame to revisit the topic. With
respect to the EUSR candidates to replace Miroslav Lajcak,
she noted that Sir Emyr Jones Parry is the "hot candidate."
Apparently there have been rumors (and only that),that he
would be unable to start on March 1. Since the EU wants
someone who knows the region and will be able to start early,
if these rumors are true, Janesova opined that he may not get
the nomination from EU High Rep Solana. The second contender
is evidently an Austrian candidate.


7. (SBU) Croatia: Janesova noted that the three Slovene
issues on the table hampering progress on Croatian accession
remain (1. the border concern related to a Slovene seaside
port which falls within the territorial waters of Croatia;

2. The Ljubljana Bank nationalization effects on the accounts
of Croatian nationals; 3. the issues related to waste
disposal from the nuclear power plant in Slovenia.).
According to Janesova, the European Commission involvement to
mediate the border dispute has been helpful. Nonetheless,
"the intransigence of older EU member states" and lack of
enthusiasm for enlargement has meant little other progress
has been made toward Croatian accession.


8. (SBU) Macedonia: With respect to Macedonia, Janesova
thanked the USG for our efforts to press PM Gruevski on the
name issue. The EU has seen little sign of flexibility in
this sphere by the Greeks or Macedonians, however. She
hopes, nonetheless, that the EU can make progress on visa
liberalization as the Macedonians are "the best prepared" of
the countries in the Western Balkans. With respect to the
upcoming March elections, she noted that the EU has made
clear what is expected of Macedonia.


9. (SBU) Albania: Janesova noted the EU has demarched the
Albanians regarding their Lustration Law and that the EU has
offered law experts to assist. Now the EU is working to
identify the law experts to assist Albania rectify this
problem. (Note: There is an EU-Albania Troika Ministerial
the morning of February 24 in Brussels. End Note.)

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Eastern Partnership Initiative
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10. (SBU) The Czechs are pleased to hear of our support for
this initiative and they too think that the EPI could be an
effective tool to develop democratic and economic
institutions in these countries. With respect to Belarus,
the EU has not seen many signs of improvement or adoption of
reforms and Janesova noted that more and more EU member
states are becoming vocal in their opposition to inviting
Lukashenka to participate in the May 7 EU-Eastern Partnership
Summit. The Czechs anticipate that much will depend also on
whether Belarus decides to recognize South Ossetia and
Abkhazia.

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Sudan
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11. (SBU) Janesova noted that the EU is not expecting the
International Criminal Court (ICC) to act before the GAERC

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meeting February 23, although should the ICC do so, the EU
FMs are prepared to issue a statement. The EU considers the
ICC is an independent body and does not wish to interfere or
hamper in its functioning.
Thompson-Jones