POLISH VIEWS ON APRIL EU FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000431

SIPDIS

EUR/CE, EUR/ERA, EUR/UMB, NEA, EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PL
SUBJECT: POLISH VIEWS ON APRIL EU FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING
(GAERC)

REF: 04/17/2009 GIAUQUE E-MAIL

Classified By: Political Counselor Dan Sainz for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. The Polish MFA's EU Correspondent defended
the Czech Presidency's decision to invite Belarusian
President Lukashenka to the May 7 Eastern Partnership, and
predicted that Lukashenka would indeed attend. Poland will
use the release of the Commission's report on the European
Neighborhood Policy (ENP) to press for increased resources
for Europe's eastern neighbors. FM Sikorski and his German
counterpart are considering a joint visit to Kyiv to push for
political consensus in the face of Ukraine's deepening
economic crisis. Poland would welcome greater coordination
with the U.S. on Ukraine. On Moldova, Poland wants the EU to
call for compromise between the government and opposition and
to send a strong signal that human rights violations will not
be tolerated. The EU-3 have been noticeably less active in
lobbying other member states for additional sanctions on
Iran. Poland will continue to "push for balance" in the
Middle East by urging the EU to "upgrade" relations with
Israel and to take a wait-and-see approach on the new Israeli
Government's policies. Poland is interested in working with
the U.S. to convince EU member states of the need for a
coordinated EU-U.S. effort in Afghanistan. On Burma, no
change in the EU's position is expected. END SUMMARY.

EASTERN NEIGHBORHOOD


2. (C) MFA European Correspondent Cyryl Kozaczewski defended
the Czech Presidency's decision to invite Lukashenka to the
May 7 Eastern Partnership summit, after EU member states
failed to reach consensus on the issue at the March 30
Gymnich meeting. Kozaczewski argued that the "lowest common
denominator" was consensus that invitees should be at the
same protocol level. Kozaczewski predicted that Lukashenka
would end up attending the summit, despite the Czechs' best
efforts to encourage him to send a lower level representative.


3. (C) Poland will use the release of the Commission's report
on the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) to press for a
"re-balancing" of resources in light of the impact of the
economic crisis in Eastern Europe and developments in the
region since August 2008. Under the terms of a 2006
agreement, 2/3 of the ENP's budget goes to southern
neighbors, and 1/3 to eastern neighbors. Poland believes the
EU should devote more ENP resources -- beyond the Eastern
Partnership -- to helping eastern neighbors weather the
economic crisis.

UKRAINE


4. (C) Kozaczewski said Ukraine remains a matter of serious
concern for Poland and Germany. FM Sikorski and German FM
Steinmeier have discussed the situation frequently in recent
weeks and are considering making a joint (post-GAERC) visit
to Kyiv to encourage political consensus in the face of
Ukraine's deepening economic crisis. Kozaczewski welcomed
the news that the Deputy Secretary was traveling to Ukraine
and suggested greater U.S.-German-Polish coordination would
be helpful. He said Sikorski and Steinmeier both see the
need for more EU discussion on Ukraine and are working to
"gather support" among other member states.

MOLDOVA


5. (C) Kozaczewski said Poland has pushed for Moldova to be
on the GAERC agenda. Poland wants the EU to send a strong
signal to Chisinau that human rights violations will not be
tolerated and to call for compromise between the government
and the opposition. He noted that Czech PM Topolanek and
HighRep Solana are traveling to Chisinau April 24. Poland
hopes political developments in Moldova will not negatively
impact the Eastern Partnership summit. Kozaczewski said
Poland wanted the Partnership to focus exclusively on civil
society and development projects below the political level,
and not become a "political instrument."

IRAN


6. (C) Kozaczewski said it was not clear whether IRAN would
be handled as a separate topic, or as part of the discussion
on the Middle East. Asked about prospects for additional EU
sanctions on Iran, Kozaczewski said, "paradoxically, we were
closer before the new U.S. Administration took office."
There has been no change of heart among the traditional
hold-out member states, who see other issues as "more
urgent," despite the fact that IRAN is getting closer to
developing a nuclear weapon. Kozaczewski said the EU-3,

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especially the French, have been noticeably less active in
lobbying other member states than in the past. He suggested
any GAERC discussion on IRAN would be more productive if it
were "prepared" in advance, perhaps by EU political
directors.

MIDDLE EAST


7. (C) Kozaczewski said the Middle East is a "standing topic"
at the GAERC, but ministers do not plan to issue Conclusions.
There is growing concern about limited humanitarian access
to Gaza and ongoing construction of settlements in the West
Bank. He said Poland would continue to "push for balance" by
urging the EU to "upgrade" relations with Israel and to take
a wait-and-see approach on the new Israeli Government.

TRANSATLANTIC RELATIONS


8. (C) Kozaczewski offered a positive assessment of the April
4-5 EU-U.S. Summit in Prague. Poland "took note" of
President Obama's remarks concerning U.S. leadership on
climate change and welcomed his expressions of support for
the Eastern Partnership and the Southern Energy Corridor.
Poland is interested in working with the U.S. to convince EU
member states of the need for a coordinated EU-U.S. effort in
Afghanistan.

BURMA


9. (C) Kozaczewski expected the EU would continue sanctions
against Burma, but said Poland supports the idea of increased
humanitarian assistance and a renewed push for
democratization. He predicted discussion would be limited,
noting that the text of Conclusions on Burma is all but final.

ASHE