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FM USEU BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 001175 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA AND H 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/05/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL PINR EUN
SUBJECT: MID-TERM CHANGES IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
 
 
Classified By: POLOFF COURTNEY R. NEMROFF FOR REASONS 1.5 (D) AND (E) 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: The European Parliament (EP) 
mid-term leadership changes of January 2007 provide a new 
opportunity for us to pursue deeper engagement in pursuit of 
U.S. interests.  The new group at the top is broadly pro-U.S. 
and wants to strengthen the transatlantic relationship, with 
one notable exception in German Communist Helmuth Markov, who 
took over as head of the International Trade Committee. 
German Christian Democrat MEP Hans-Gert Poettering was 
elected as the new EP President; French MEP Joseph Daul 
replaced Hans-Gert Poettering at the head of the EPP-ED 
Group; and Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski replaced Elmar 
Brok as the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.  The 
transition from Brok to Saryusz-Wolski involved a minor power 
struggle, with Brok forced out despite trying to engage 
German Chancellor Merkel on his behalf. 
 
2.(SBU) The new EP leadership will likely seek to increase 
dialogue with the United States on strategic issues, 
including the war on terror, energy security, Europe's near 
neighborhood with Russia, and trade.  One early signal of 
their commitment and ability to strengthen relations with the 
United States will be in the language of the resolution on 
transatlantic relations the EP is expected to adopt April 26. 
 The domination of "new countries" in the leadership of the 
Foreign Affairs Committee and the new Chairman's personal 
interest in the EU's eastern neighbors and energy policy will 
likely result in an increase in EP resolutions on Ukraine and 
Belarus and regular visits from officials from the Caucasus 
to the EP.  While the Poles and Germans will continue to 
disagree on Russia policy, the new Chairman of Foreign 
Affairs will promote the Polish side of that argument.  Early 
and carefully focused engagement with the new EP leadership 
could help us shift our dialogue with the EP away from an 
almost exclusive focus on bilateral irritants (renditions, 
data privacy, etc.) to a more substantive dialogue on 
strategic issues where we can find some common agreement. 
This dialogue could in turn allow our allies in the EPP-ED to 
point to positive developments in the bilateral relationship 
to counter the focus from the left on issues that divide us. 
END SUMMARY AND COMMENT 
 
POETTERING BECOMES NEW EP PRESIDENT 
----------------------------------- 
 
3.(U) German Christian Democrat MEP Hans-Gert Poettering, 
Chairman of the center-right EPP-ED group since 1999, was 
elected as the new EP President January 16 with a comfortable 
majority.  He replaces Spanish Socialist MEP Josep Borrell. 
Poettering will be EP President for two and a half years, 
until the next European elections in June 2009. His election 
was basically guaranteed, as the EPP-ED and the PES 
(Socialist Group) had agreed to power-share the presidency at 
the outset of the current Parliament session in 2004, with 
Poettering informally designated as Borrell's successor. 
According to EP contacts, Poettering intentionally chose this 
later half of the five-year EP Presidency in the power-share 
deal so that the start of his presidency would coincide with 
the German Presidency of the EU.  His German CDU connection 
provides him with good optics (he makes a point of showing 
visitors the first signature in the "guest book" he keeps in 
his office - that of German Chancellor Merkel).  He is also 
using his links to Merkel and her advisors to boost his 
influence, making inroads into areas where the EP president's 
role has been limited, or non-existent, in the past. In 
particular, he is trying to play a significant role in the EU 
institutional reform debate and is lobbying to participate in 
the G8 parliamentary meeting. 
 
4.(C) Poettering has been an MEP since the first direct 
European elections in 1979.  He is a respected figure in the 
EP and was instrumental in bringing the EPP (Christian 
Democrats) and the ED parties (British conservatives and the 
Czech Civic Democratic Platform - ODS) together into the 
combined EPP-ED, making it the strongest group in the 
Parliament.  EP leadership, Commission President Barroso, and 
German Chancellor Merkel welcomed Poettering's election, 
calling him a politician of compromise who could work well 
with all parties.  Poettering is a strong supporter of a 
federal Europe and was a vocal advocate of bringing eastern 
European countries into the EU, but he is opposed to Turkey's 
membership. 
 
5.(C) Poettering considers himself a transatlanticist and 
favors strong cooperation with the U.S. but has always been 
openly critical of the U.S. on issues like Guantanamo and the 
death penalty.  He raised both issues during his first 
address to the Chamber on February 13.  Poettering is also a 
protocol-conscious politician who has made clear to Embassy 
officers both his desire to travel to the United States in 
 
BRUSSELS 00001175  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
his new role and his expectation that he be received at 
 
 
levels "appropriate" to his rank while he is there.  We 
believe it would be useful for Poettering to travel to 
Washington to meet with key Congressional leadership as well 
as senior administration officials.  It is worth our time to 
engage Poettering as he builds the power of the EP presidency 
as an institution. 
 
DAUL REPLACES POETTERING AS EPP-ED LEADER 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Replacing Poettering as the leader of the largest 
political group in the EP is Joseph Daul, a French farmer and 
former chairman of the EP Agricultural Affairs committee. 
Four candidates ran for the post and Daul faced a tight race 
against Swedish MEP Gunnar Hokmark, ultimately elected by 134 
votes against 115.  Daul had the support of French and German 
members, while Hokmark was supported by most new member 
states and the British conservatives.  As Daul himself noted 
in an interview in "Le Monde", both French President Chirac 
and presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy backed him in his 
bid for the position.  A traditional Catholic, Daul is a 
typical "old Europe" politician and a staunch defender of 
"European agriculture" but has professed openness to changes 
in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and to WTO 
agreements.  He is strongly opposed to Turkey's accession to 
the EU. 
 
¶7. (C) Daul strikes us as a relatively inexperienced leader 
who lacks a solid understanding of key international 
political issues.  He tends to steer conversations back to 
his area of expertise: agriculture and the politics of his 
local village (he was mayor of Pfettisheim in the Alsatian 
region of France).  Daul does not speak English well and 
relies on an interpreter in meetings.  However, he has 
stressed the value he places on strong transatlantic 
relations and is likely a leader who we can help shape, 
especially now at the beginning of his tenure in this 
influential position.  During his first meeting with USEU 
Ambassador Gray February 14, Daul stressed his desire to work 
with the United States and announced that he planned to visit 
Washington in July 2007.  We see potential to work with Daul 
on the Balkans, Iran, and other big picture strategic goals. 
 
"NEW EUROPE" LEADING THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Polish Christian Democrat MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski 
was formally elected January 31 to replace German Christian 
Democrat MEP Elmar Brok as Chairman of the European 
Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET).  In addition, 
three out of the four vice chairmen of the committee come 
from new EU member states: Czech Socialist MEP Libor Roucek, 
a former Romanian government spokesman; Polish Liberal MEP 
Janusz Onyszkiewicz, a former Polish defense minister; and 
Romanian Socialist MEP Mircea Pascu, also a former defense 
Minister of his country.  Michael Gahler, a German Christian 
Democrat, is the only vice chairman from "old Europe". All of 
these MEPs, including Michael Gahler, have shown positive 
attitudes towards the U.S. and are likely to promote good 
transatlantic relations. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Committee leadership changes throughout the EP were 
delayed because of controversy surrounding the Foreign 
Affairs Committee chair.  Elmar Brok, who was compelled to 
give up his seat according to internal EP rules on seat 
distribution, tried to resist by asking German Chancellor 
Merkel and others to lobby on his behalf.  The EPP-ED group 
ultimately decided Brok had to go, marking the end of an era 
for the EP, as Brok has chaired the committee since 1999. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The new Chairman, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, has been an 
EP Vice President since the European elections of 2004.  He 
is a former Polish Minister for European Affairs (1991-1996 
and 2000-2001) and is the Vice Rector of the College of 
Europe. Saryusz-Wolski was the chief advisor on EU affairs to 
then Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek in 1999. His 
stubbornness in negotiating his country's accession agreement 
with the EU is legendary.  Having earned himself the nickname 
of Poland's "Mr. Europe", Saryusz-Wolski left politics in the 
autumn of 2001 when the Buzek government fell.  He returned 
to politics in 2004 with the hopes of becoming Poland's 
candidate for European Commissioner but the post went to 
Danuta Hubner, and Saryusz-Wolski was instead elected as an 
MEP. Although a transatlanticist, as most conservative Polish 
politicians, Saryusz-Wolski appears to be more focused 
eastward.  He is a strong supporter of a possible EU future 
for Ukraine.  During a meeting with USEU Ambassador Gray on 
February 14, he stressed the danger of Russia's energy 
policy, calling for the United States and the EU to cooperate 
on solutions to bypass Russia, possibly by building an 
 
BRUSSELS 00001175  003 OF 003 
 
 
alternative pipeline through Turkey, and emphasized Russia's 
negative role in the Middle East and Iran. 
 
GERMAN COMMUNIST TO CHAIR THE TRADE COMMITTEE 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11. (U) The fight for the Chairmanship of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee was not the only major change in EP committee 
leaderships.  While the Polish Christian Democrats took over 
the prestigious Foreign Affairs seat, they lost the less 
visible but most powerful Budget committee chairmanship to 
the German Christian-Democrat MEP Reimer Boege.  Former EP 
President, Spanish socialist Josep Borrell, wanted the 
Chairmanship of the Development committee and got it, 
replacing Italian communist Luisa Morgantini.  The Communists 
received in exchange the International Trade Committee 
Chairmanship held previously by the Spanish Socialist Enrique 
Baron Crespo.  Helmut Markov, a German Communist, is the new 
committee chair.  The German delegation of the EPP-ED also 
lost the chair of the powerful Environment committee (in 
charge of key issues such as REACH legislation and biotech) 
to the Czech delegation.  Miroslav Ouzky, a medical doctor 
without extensive political experience, will chair this key 
committee. 
 
Tensions in the EPP-ED Group 
---------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) As exposed by the tight race between Daul and 
Hokmark and the fight for the Foreign Affairs Committee 
chairmanship between Brok and Saryusz-Wolski, there are tense 
undercurrents in the EPP-ED, which play out in a number of 
ways.  First, between the EPP and ED components - the British 
conservatives have announced their willingness to leave the 
EPP-ED after Ehe 2009 elections; second, between the "old" 
and "new" member states (with the greatest tensions evident 
between Germany and Poland); and third, between the "social 
liberals" and the "free-marketeers."  The last two categories 
overlap, according to an EPP-ED staffer, as center-right 
parties in the 12 new countries support full market 
liberalization while the old countries defend a stronger 
"social" tradition. Daul announced at his first press 
conference his goal of achieving better group unity and 
presented himself as a man of compromise who could achieve 
this aim.  If Daul fails at that task, and if the UK 
Conservatives carry through on their threat to leave after 
the 2009 elections, it could mean a loss of influence for the 
EPP-ED after 2009.  Depending on election results, it could 
even mean the Socialists regain their position as the 
strongest political group in the EP.  The departure of 
British Conservatives could also potentially mean a larger 
"euroskeptic" camp that could become a strong group in size. 
This is more likely if disparate parties manage to find a 
common platform and if the growth of euroskepticism in Europe 
is confirmed in the next election. 
 
MCKINLEY 
 
 
.