Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PRAGUE175
2009-03-26 18:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Prague
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT WITH THE

Tags:  EG EUN EZ OVIP PGOV PREL 
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P 261824Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1259
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRAGUE 000175 

SIPDIS

EUR/ERA FOR WLUCAS, EUR/CE FOR ATRATENSEK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019
TAGS: EG EUN EZ OVIP PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT WITH THE
PRESIDENT TO PRAGUE APRIL 4-5

REF: PRAGUE 153

Classified By: DEPUTY POL/ECON COUNSELOR MARTINA STRONG FOR REASONS 1.4
(B) AND (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRAGUE 000175

SIPDIS

EUR/ERA FOR WLUCAS, EUR/CE FOR ATRATENSEK

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/25/2019
TAGS: EG EUN EZ OVIP PGOV PREL
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR SECRETARY CLINTON'S VISIT WITH THE
PRESIDENT TO PRAGUE APRIL 4-5

REF: PRAGUE 153

Classified By: DEPUTY POL/ECON COUNSELOR MARTINA STRONG FOR REASONS 1.4
(B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Embassy Prague warmly welcomes the
President's and your April 4-5 visit and participation in the
U.S.-EU Summit. You will arrive at an extremely tense time
in Czech domestic politics. The government of Prime Minister
Mirek Topolanek was toppled on March 24, but he continues to
rule until the next government can be formed. Despite the
domestic political turbulence, the Czechs retain the EU
Presidency. The Czech Presidency priorities, which include
energy security, the Middle East, and Afghanistan, remain
unchanged, but their ability to advance them and push for EU
consensus has been weakened. During your visit, the Czechs
will also seek to reaffirm their country's strong bilateral
ties with the United States. The Czech Republic has been a
committed ally, actively engaged in Afghanistan and Kosovo,
as well as in advancing democracy and human rights around the
world. Prime Minister Topolanek's government views missile
defense (MD) as an important contribution to NATO's security
and a key element of the country's partnership with the
United States. The President's and your visit will help
strengthen the foundation of this partnership and advance
many of our shared goals in Europe and around the world. END
SUMMARY.

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A Valued Ally With Domestic Challenges
--------------


2. (C) Nearly 20 years after the 1989 "Velvet Revolution,"
the Czech Republic today is a democratic market economy and a
committed U.S. ally. The Czech Republic has been a member of
NATO since 1999 and the European Union since 2004. After 26
months in power, PM Topolanek's government lost a vote of no
confidence on March 24, but continues rule until the next
government can be formed. With the fall of the government,
President Vaclav Klaus has assumed significant political
powers, in accordance with the Czech constitution. President
Klaus and PM Topolanek are bitter rivals, and it is widely

believed that Klaus has masterminded Topolanek's downfall,
even though until recently they were members of the same
party. The successful effort to unseat PM Topolanek during
the country's EU Presidency and at a time when the impact of
the global economic crisis is beginning to be felt
illustrates the Czech Republic's poisoned domestic politics,
in which matters of domestic and foreign policy are ignored
or used to settle political scores, usually to the detriment
of the Czech Republic's international standing and national
interest.


3. (SBU) Despite these domestic political challenges, our
bilateral relations are excellent, with the Czech Republic's
November 2008 entry into the Visa Waiver Program having
removed the one long-standing irritant. Czech Prime Minister
Topolanek's commitment to strong transatlantic ties undergird
his government's support for the U.S.-proposed missile
defense radar site. The country also has been a steady
supporter of U.S. and NATO military operations and maintains
approximately 1000 troops on foreign missions. In
Afghanistan, the Czechs have about 500 military and civilian
officials. In 2008, they launched a provincial
reconstruction team (PRT),deployed a Special Forces unit,
and sent experts to an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team
(OMLT) in Afghanistan. Over the past several years, they
have also maintained an infantry battalion of 450 troops in
Kosovo. Domestic political constraints, however, may make it
difficult for the Czechs to maintain, let alone increase,
their foreign troop deployment levels.


4. (C) Building on its own recent history, the Czech Republic
is our strongest partner in Europe on Cuba, and an active
supporter of Cuba's democratic opposition. Likewise in
Georgia, Belarus, Burma, Iraq and other countries in
transition, the Czech government and NGOs work to support
peaceful transformations. Prague has been home to the
U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty since 1995, and
has actively supported broadcasts to countries in Eastern
Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.


5. (SBU) Following several years of strong economic
performance, the small, open, export-oriented Czech economy
is now struggling with the effects of the global economic
downturn. The economy is expected to contract by as much as
two to three percent in 2009. Unemployment has climbed to
7.4 percent. Nevertheless, the Czech financial system has
remained relatively healthy, and the Czech Republic is one of
only four OECD countries not to have had to recapitalize its

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banks. The government has put forward an economic recovery
program, costing almost 2 percent of GDP, designed to
maintain employment and exports. Fearing the consequences to
their economy should international investors put them in the
same category as some of their more troubled neighbors, the
Czechs have opposed any initiatives that treat Central and
Eastern Europe as a unified region. Within the EU, the Czech
government has supported increased coordination while
opposing supranational regulation and excessive state
intervention in the economy. This conservative approach is
espoused by PM Topolanek personally, but especially by
President Klaus.

--------------
U.S.-EU Summit
--------------


6. (C) Securing President Obama's and your presence in Prague
for the U.S.-EU Summit was a signal achievement for the Czech
EU Presidency. The proposed U.S.-EU summit agenda (climate
change, energy security, Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iran and the
economy),as well as the foreign ministerial agenda (Middle
East/Gaza, Russia, the Eastern Partnership and the Balkans),
reflect President Obama's key priorities and dovetail well
with the Czech EU Presidency's overarching theme of "Europe
Without Borders" and its three areas of focus: 1) Economic
Competitiveness (including addressing the challenges of the
global financial crisis); 2) Energy Security and
Sustainability; and 3) Europe in the World (external
relations). During the first several weeks at the helm of
the EU, the Czechs faced two immediate crises: gas and Gaza.
The Czechs' active shuttle diplomacy facilitated a solution
to the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. The bigger challenge,
however, lies ahead: uniting the EU behind an energy
security strategy that rests on further diversification of
suppliers and routes, including support for the Nabucco and
TGI (Turkey-Greece-Italy) pipelines, improved outreach to
Caspian producers, and increased interconnectivity of the
internal EU gas and electricity grids. (Note: The
unpredictability of Russian energy supplies had already hit
the Czech Republic in 2008, when Russian crude oil deliveries
to the Czech Republic declined sharply -- ostensibly for
technical reasons -- following the July 2008 signing of the
U.S.-Czech Ballistic Missile Defense Agreement. End Note.)


7. (C) In Afghanistan, in addition to being an active
bilateral contributor (noted earlier),the Czech EU
Presidency has pressed for greater EU coordination and
contributions, particularly in the civilian sphere. At the
EU-Afghanistan Troika Ministerial on January 23, the EU
reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to Afghanistan
reconstruction (from 2002-2006 the EU contributed over 1.3B
euros to this effort and for 2007-2010 it has pledged 610M
euros). The Czechs are currently facilitating internal EU
discussions on how to strengthen the current EUPOL mission in
Afghanistan and how best to support upcoming Afghan
presidential elections. The EU also held a EU-Pakistan
Ministerial on March 13, which focused on upgrading relations
and took note of the fact that the European Commission had
allocated some 200M euros from 2010-2013 for rural
development and education projects in Pakistan.


8. (C) Moving the EU toward a more united transatlantic
approach to Russia remains a key goal and challenge for the
Czech Presidency. Given their negative historical
experience, the Czechs have been a valuable U.S. ally with
regard to Russia, within the EU as well as NATO. Events
including the Georgia conflict, the gas crisis, and Russia's
stance with regard to missile defense have reinforced Czech
skepticism toward Russia. They generally agree with the U.S.
approach of cooperating wherever possible, but resisting
Russia's economic and military pressure against its
neighbors. However, the Czechs are also keenly aware that
during their EU presidency they may be required to temper
their government's views on Russia to achieve an EU
consensus.


9. (SBU) Related to the Czech focus on Russia is their goal
of advancing EU relations with its "Eastern Partners," which
the EU defines as Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Moldova and Belarus. EU leaders announced on March 20 that
they would provide assistance to these nations totaling 600M
euros through 2013. The idea behind this initiative is to
strengthen relations and encourage free-market and democratic
reforms within these six nations. The EU also seeks to
improve its energy diversification through cooperation with
these countries. Of the 600M euros, more than half will be
for strengthening state institutions, border control and
assistance for small businesses. The EU will also host its
first summit with these Eastern Partners on May 7. Whether

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and at what level Belarus may participate in the May summit
remains undecided.


10. (SBU) We have a ready and attentive ally in the Czechs
when it comes to advancing stability in the Balkans and EU
enlargement. Indeed, our willingness to put the Balkans on
the agenda makes it easier for the Czechs to advance one of
their key priorities. Unfortunately, Czech efforts to date
to advance EU enlargement with Balkan countries have met with
strong resistance from some EU member states. Name issues
and ICTY compliance, but also enlargement fatigue are behind
this resistance. We can anticipate that the Czechs will
strive to keep the Balkan nations oriented to the West, but
progress may be slow.


11. (C) With respect to the Middle East, we can anticipate
that the EU Foreign Ministers will want to speak about the
entire region, not just Gaza, although they spent much of
their time in January and February on precisely this issue.
The Czechs, particularly PM Topolanek and FM Schwarzenberg,
have traveled to the Middle East several times in the last
few months, in addition to hosting multiple separate events
for EU member states in Brussels with key Middle East
interlocutors.

--------------
Two Issues to Watch - Guantanamo and Missile Defense
--------------


12. (C) The Czech EU Presidency has welcomed the U.S.
administration's executive orders related to the closure of
the Guantanamo detention facility. The Czechs have
facilitated internal EU discussions at the Foreign, Justice,
and Interior Ministerial levels. European Commissioner
Barrot and Czech Interior Minister Langer traveled to the
U.S. March 16-17 to discuss with Attorney General Holder and
other USG officials EU questions about the detainees. While
the EU member states consider this to be a decision for each
individual member state to make, they have discussed
establishing an EU framework to address collective Schengen
travel security concerns. However, the EU has not taken
collective action yet. Czech officials have been clear that
the Czech Republic, while willing to facilitate EU
discussions on the resettlement of detainees, cannot accept
any of them due to domestic political reasons.


13. (C) EU membership is one of two pillars of Czech foreign
policy. NATO and strong transatlantic ties form the second
pillar. Given the importance the Czechs assign to their
relationship with the United States, PM Topolanek and his
government have viewed missile defense as a natural next step
in the security partnership between our two countries. Since
the United States officially presented the MD proposal to the
Czech Republic in January 2007, the Czech government has been
unwavering in its support, despite significant public
opposition driven largely by the Czech historical experience
and concerns about foreign troop presence on the Czech
territory. Russian threats and intransigence with regard to
MD in many ways reinforced the Czech government's
determination to proceed with the project. The Czech
government moved quickly to negotiate and sign the Ballistic
Missile Defense Agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement.
The Czech Senate ratified the agreements in November 2008.
Ratification of the two agreements in the Lower Chamber has
been suspended due to the domestic political turmoil, but
also due to outstanding questions about the U.S.
administration's plans. Going forward, the Czechs consider
close consultations with the United States as critical.

--------------
A Strong and Reliable Partnership
--------------


14. The Czechs view your visit and the U.S.-EU summit not
only as a significant opportunity to advance our shared
agenda, but also as a recognition of the truly remarkable
progress the Czech Republic and its Central European
neighbors have made since the fall of the Iron Curtain in

1989. Despite its small size and at times unsettled
political scene, the Czech Republic has consistently proven
to be a reliable and active ally of the United States. The
Czechs are appreciative of the positive role the United
States has played at key moments of their history. They are,
in turn, proud of their own contributions to security,
democracy, and freedom around the globe since 1989.
Thompson-Jones