CZECH EU PRESIDENCY: COMMENTS ON UPCOMING JANUARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRAGUE 000045

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EUR/ERA WLUCAS, EUR/CE FOR ATRATENSEK

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TAGS: EUN EZ EG PGOV PREL ZI SO SU AF BO
SUBJECT: CZECH EU PRESIDENCY: COMMENTS ON UPCOMING JANUARY
GAERC

REF: A. PRAGUE DAILY - JANUARY 23

B. BRUSSELS 79

C. CARNIE-BOWLES E-MAIL DATED 1.20.09

D. STATE 4297

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1. (SBU) Summary: On January 21 emboff spoke with Magdalena
Janesova of the Czech MFA Department of Common Foreign and
Security Policy in advance of the January 26-27 EU General
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC). Of note were
her comments on: Gaza, the Balkans, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Belarus,
Ukraine and Guantanamo. End Summary.

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EU Engagement on Gaza
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2. (SBU) Janesova noted with some surprise that we had points
on so many topics, but yet none related to the current
situation in Gaza. She noted that the EU FMs are focusing
intensely on this subject and referenced the January 21
dinner the Czechs hosted for the EU 27 with Israeli FM Livni
in Brussels. While the EU reiterated the importance of
opening border crossings to allow for humanitarian aid to
enter Gaza, Livni apparently made no promises. She has also
apparently made no move to accept the EU offer to augment the
EU Rafah border monitoring mission, which the EU believes
would help to address the issue of smuggling. Both Janesova
and Deputy Director Katerina Sequensova, who joined for this
portion of the discussion, spoke with extreme skepticism
about the EU offer of a border mission, given the lack of
enthusiasm from Israel and Egypt. They also cited comments
by Robert Cooper of the European Council Secretariat who has
apparently noted that such a monitoring missions faces
serious handicaps; communication with all of the relevant
parties is problematic, especially as the EU does not
directly communicate with Hamas. The EU, and the Czechs in
particular, are also looking to what more can be done to
address the humanitarian crisis and they are working in
cooperation with the Egyptians on a conference, likely to be
held in Cairo around February 15. Janesova also highlighted
the EU FMs are meeting with their Egyptian, Jordanian,
Palestinian Authority and Norweigian counterparts on the
evening of January 26 in Brussels (Note: Earlier in the week
Turkey was announced as one of the invited participants at
this dinner although Janesova did not mention Turkey as one
of the scheduled participants during her discussion with
Emboff on January 21. End Note).

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

3. (SBU) According to Janesova, the Western Balkans will be
dropped from next week's GAERC agenda and instead the Czechs
will "work the corridors" before putting this back on the
agenda. (Note: It appears that part of this decision stems
from Dutch intransigence on EU enlargement while things
remain unresolved on the Lisbon Treaty, Slovene concerns
about Croatia, and Greek issues with Macedonia. End Note.)
Nonetheless, Janesova offered several insights related to the
region.


4. (SBU) Kosovo: In response to our query about the EULEX
operational capability, she noted that things have been
moving a bit slower than they would like. Her sense was that
EULEX 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
they are paying particular attention to recognition (or lack
thereof) of Kosovo customs stamps by Serbia. She
acknowledged A/S Fried's emphasis on the need for
institutionalized coordination between the key organizations
in Pristina made during the Political Director's meeting as
well as the fact that Robert Cooper of the European Council
Secretariat planned to look into improving this, particularly
as it relates to ICR Feith and EULEX HOM de Kermabon. She
mused aloud that perhaps the EU member states should request
joint reports of conditions on the ground from the
Secretariat as both Feith and de Kermabon report up the same
chain of command there.


5. (SBU) Serbia: Janesova commented that the EU PSC

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Ambassadors agreed to establish a two person office in
Belgrade. While the mandate is apparently still being
fleshed out, the Czechs apparently would like to see this
office staffed by people with technical expertise. 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.


6. (SBU) Bosnia: Janesova noted that with the upcoming PIC
scheduled for early March, the EU believes that it is
important to move toward closing the Office of the High
Representative and that the Council Secretariat continues to
work on the mandate for the EU Special Representative. The
Czechs believe that continuing the OHR will not help the
current situation. Signaling that the EU may view things
slightly differently than the U.S. in this sphere, Janesova
commented that many of the "five plus two" objectives and
conditions are very much open to interpretation, questioning
what exactly constitutes "internal stability," or "resolving
the status of Brcko district."


7. (SBU) Croatia: Janesova noted that there are three Slovene
issues on the table hampering progress on Croatian accession.
She noted that there remains an unresolved border concern
related to a Slovene seaside port which falls within the
territorial waters of Croatia. There are also issues related
to Ljubljana Bank. Apparently after this bank was
nationalized, problems remained regarding the accounts of
Croatian nationals. Janesova noted that the Slovenes thus
have blocked discussion of the Croatian accession chapter
related to the free flow of capital. Third, there is a
concern related to the nuclear power plant in Slovenia.
Apparently there are disagreements between the Croatians and
Slovenes regarding how nuclear waste disposal will be paid
for and handled.


8. (U) Montenegro and Macedonia: With respect to Macedonia,
Janesova noted that the EU is in an awkward position with the
lack of flexibility from either Macedonia or Greece on the
name issue as well as upcoming March elections in Macedonia.
With respect to Montenegro, Janesova noted that once again it
has been the Dutch that have been especially difficult
holding up movement on all enlargement issues.

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Africa - Sudan and Zimbabwe
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9. (SBU) On our points related to Sudan and Darfur, the
Czechs expressed concern about the work remaining on the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The Czechs also believe that
much of this will require pragmatism on behalf of the
international community as President Bashir's involvement
will very likely be required if any progress is to be made.
The Czechs also thanked us for referencing the U.S.-EU
mission to eastern Chad from January 25-31. As they were
unaware of the details of this mission, they asked us to
please pass along additional details, especially related to
who was representing the EU on this mission. Janesova noted
that the EU would be renewing its restrictive measures on
Zimbabwe and adding additional measures. In the upcoming
GAERC statement they are also planning to call for a fact
finding mission related to trade in illicit diamonds. The
Czechs also flagged their interest in our point related to a
possible future UNSC resolution on Zimbabwe. They would
welcome additional information of what we would press for in
terms of the substance of such a resolution.

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Ukraine and Belarus
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10. (SBU) The EU has its troika with Belarus at the Foreign
Ministerial level on January 27. At this time they plan to
discuss EU-Belarus relations (to include human rights and
democracy concerns),regional issues related to Moldova,
Russia and Ukraine, and economic/energy topics. With respect
to the EU-Eastern Partnership Summit in May, Janesova stated
that the EU reviews the restrictions in place against Belarus
in April, and that any potential invitation to Lukashenka to
the summit would likely not be issued until after the
restrictions are reviewed and there is an indication that the
Belarus government has made progress on key reforms. On the

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Ukraine, Janesova noted that they will have a troika
discussion on February 5 and they will also discuss three key
topics: gas (lessons learned and the way forward),the
concept of the Eastern Partnership and the EU-Ukraine
relationship, which very much flows from the second topic.

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Guantanamo
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11. (SBU) The Czechs expressed pleasure with the first
comments of the Obama administration as well as the executive
orders related to Guantanamo. They commented that the
Foreign Minister's discussions would be done during the
informal luncheon and that the EU was not planning to issue
any statements on this, other than the January 22 statement
welcoming the signing of the executive orders. With respect
to possible visits to the U.S. by Commissioner Barrot or
Czech Minister of Interior Langer to discuss Guantanamo
(reftels B and C),the Czech MFA officials checked with the
Czech MOI security policy department on January 20, which was
unaware of such a trip. (Note: Emboffs also checked with MOI
contacts who indicated that as of now a visit by Czech
Minister Langer was "more of an intention than a coherent
plan." End Note.)
Thompson-Jones