VZCZCXRO0105
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0524/01 1501508
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301508Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7749
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ZAGREB 000524 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FOR EUR/ACE 
FOR EUR/SCE 
 
EO 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL HR REGIONAL ISSUES
SUBJECT: CROATIA ENTHUSIASTICALLY INAUGURATES NEW REGIONAL 
COOPERATION STRUCTURE 
 
REF: ZAGREB 427 and previous 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: As Chair of the South East Europe 
Cooperation Process (SEECP), the GOC hosted a May 11 Zagreb Summit 
to strengthen regional cooperation by establishing a Regional 
Cooperation Council (RCC) under SEECP auspices to replace the 
Stability Pact in early 2008.  Coinciding with political maneuvering 
in Belgrade (reaction to election of a Radical as Parliament 
speaker), the meeting provided a platform to press Serbia to commit 
itself to Euro-Atlantic integration:  German Chancellor Merkel, 
European Commission President Barroso, and U/S Burns challenged 
Serbia to engage fully on the side of democracy and Euro-Atlantic 
norms.  Kosovo was high on the agenda; behind the scenes diplomacy 
won Kosovo Prime Minister Ceku a place at the SEECP table for the 
first time. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Croatia's successful and energetic SEECP chairmanship, led 
by MFA State Secretary Hidajet Biscevic, saw an effective 
partnership with the Stability Pact in the transition to a 
"regionally owned" cooperative mechanism: securing regional and 
donor funding, developing a charter and statute for the RCC, and 
deciding on RCC leadership (Biscevic) and Secretariat location 
(Sarajevo).  Prime Minister Sanader's address underscored both the 
importance of regional cooperation and Croatia's determination to 
participate fully, describing the SEECP as the "political pillar" of 
cooperation, with the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) 
as the economic pillar.  As a demonstration of PM Sanader's 
commitment to the new RCC mechanism, he assured Stability Pact 
Coordinator Busek that Hido Biscevic, Sanader's closest foreign 
policy advisor and troubleshooter, would soon engage fully on RCC 
business. 
END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
Regional Cooperation Council Officially Endorsed 
 
¶3. (U) The 10th annual SEECP Summit meeting, preceded on May 10 by 
the Stability Pact Regional Table and SEECP Foreign Ministers 
meetings, marked the end of a very successful year for Croatia as 
SEECP Chairman in Office.  Beginning with initial discussions of the 
proposed Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) last fall, the Croatia 
CiO, led by MFA State Secretary Biscevic saw an effective 
partnership with the Stability Pact in securing the necessary 
regional and donor funding, developing a charter and statute for the 
RCC, and deciding on RCC leadership (Biscevic) and Secretariat 
location (Sarajevo) (refs). 
 
¶4. (U)  The May 10 Stability Pact Regional Table underscored 
universal appreciation for the Pact and its successful transition 
strategy and for the work of Special Coordinator Busek, whose 
tireless engagement with regional political leaders and with donor 
governments underpinned the transition plan's success.  The Regional 
Table confirmed the RCC founding documents and the SEECP proposals 
for RCC Secretary General and Secretariat location.  With most 
speeches routine, the intervention by a Tanzanian diplomat 
representing UNMIK stood out, expressing simple gratitude to the 
Stability Pact for providing the umbrella to allow Kosovo to take 
its place firmly in the regional cooperation process. 
 
¶5. (U) The SEECP Foreign Ministers meeting later that day also 
supported the Stability Pact transition process, endorsing the SEECP 
decision on RCC leadership and secretariat location. 
 
Prime Ministers Pressure Serbia; Kosovo Sits at the Table 
 
¶6. (SBU) Beginning with Croatian Prime Minister Sanader's and 
President Mesic's welcoming remarks, speakers hammered away on the 
theme of the importance for Serbia to decide on a democratic, pro-EU 
and Euro-Atlantic path.  German Chancellor Merkel underscored the EU 
role in Kosovo and reiterated that Serbian compliance with ICTY 
would open the door to real progress toward a Stabilization and 
Association agreement.  European Commission President Barroso echoed 
the clear message.  Undersecretary Burns delivered a forceful 
message on U.S. support for Kosovo independence. (Note: In contrast 
to the March 2 Foreign Ministers meeting, when Ceku attended as part 
of the UNMIK/Kosovo delegation, Ceku in fact received a personal 
invitation to the Summit.  Nonetheless, Croatian protocol initially 
placed him behind UNMIK SRSG Ruecker; pressed by the U.S. to deliver 
fully on its invitation, the Croatians then moved Ceku to the table, 
although at some distance from the UNMIK seat. Serbian 
representative Parivodic did not react to Ceku's appearance at the 
Summit table.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) A testy exchange between Albanian PM Berisha and Serbian 
Minister of International Economic Relations Parivodic provided the 
only tension in an otherwise celebratory event.  Berisha, apparently 
departing from his notes, accused Serbia of seeking to create a 
greater Serbia at the expense of others, to which Parivodic asked 
 
ZAGREB 00000524  002 OF 002 
 
 
how many Albanian states (positing as many as four) could be 
expected in Europe.  Defending Serbia's position on Kosovo as an 
integral part of Serbia, supported by international law, Parivodic 
expressed Serbia's desire to be a friend of the U.S. and announced 
that "democratic forces" had prevailed in Belgrade with the 
formation of a new government under current PM Kostunica.   For his 
part, Ahtisaari Deputy Rohan, also a guest at the meeting, gave a 
clear and convincing defense of the Ahtisaari plan and announced 
that a new UNSCR on Kosovo was imminent. 
 
RCC Secretary General 
 
¶7. (SBU) The SEECP Summit marked the end of a year of steady work by 
the Stability Pact and the SEECP to put in place a new, regionally 
owned and led regional cooperation framework, based on the future 
RCC and its secretariat in Sarajevo.  The coming months will see 
this work continue, with the Stability Pact and new SEECP CiO 
Bulgaria seeking to negotiate the secretariat seat agreement with 
Sarajevo by the end of June to permit its formal ratification by 
participating countries before year's end.  Later this year, the 
process of establishing the RCC and its secretariat will begin in 
earnest, with the hope of having a structure and staff in place by 
January to permit the Stability Pact to complete its mission on 
schedule in February 2008.  Funding commitments are sufficient and 
prospects for meeting the remaining timetable are encouraging.  The 
main uncertainty involves the availability of the new RCC SecGen 
Biscevic.  With national elections due in Croatia in late November, 
Biscevic's important role within the Croatian government and his 
close ties to PM Sanader could limit his RCC activity through the 
fall, although PM Sanader reportedly assured Stability Pact Special 
Coordinator Busek that Biscevic will meet his RCC obligations. 
 
¶8. (U) Summit participants included: delegations from each SEECP 
member state -  Albania (PM Berisha), Bosnia and Herzegovnia (PM 
Spiric), Bulgaria (PM Stanishev), Greece (PM Karamanlis), Croatia 
(President Mesic and PM Sanader), Macedonia (President Crvenkovski), 
Moldova (President Voronin), Romania (PM Poescu-Tariceanu), Serbia 
(International Economic Relations Minister Parivodic), and Turkey 
(Economy Minister Babacan); Montenegro as the newest member (PM 
Sturanovic); Slovenian PM Jansa; European Commission president 
Barroso; German Chancellor Merkel; European Parliament President 
Pottering; Kosovo PM Ceku; SRSG Ruecker; UN Deputy Special Envoy 
Rohan; Stability Pact Coordinator Busek; and Under Secretary Burns. 
 
 
BRADTKE