VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPG #1319 3541412
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD40E85E WSC2852-695)
P 201412Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9920
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAMDA/MDA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS PRAGUE 001319 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS MARR EZ
SUBJECT: FOURTH VISIT OF STATUS OF FORCES NEGOTIATION TEAM 
TO PRAGUE 
 
REF: PRAGUE 1205 
 
 1.(SBU) Summary and Comment:  From December 11-13, PM Senior 
Advisor Ambassador Jackson McDonald led an interagency team 
in Prague through the fourth round of negotiations for the 
Supplemental Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).  Ivan Dvorak, 
Director of Strategy and Policy at the Czech Ministry of 
Defense, led the Czech inter-ministerial  delegation. 
Significant progress was made on important environmental 
portions of the text, an area that had not been substantively 
addressed in previous rounds. Both sides also made progress 
on criminal jurisdiction and construction standards. As the 
agreements have several overlapping provisions, Ambassador 
McDonald and several members of the SOFA team remained in 
Prague for the fourth round of Ballistic Missile Defense 
Agreement (BMDA) negotiations on December 14. 
 
2.(SBU) Although sticking to their strict negotiating 
mandate, Dvorak and other Czech negotiators indicated on 
several occasions they may have greater flexibility on major 
issues, such as scope and symbolic rent, after a January 17 
Czech National Security Council review of their negotiating 
positions. Taxes and labor issues will be a major focus of 
the next round in late January. Both the Czech and American 
teams expect two or perhaps three more rounds will be 
required to finish the SOFA talks.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
Environment 
 
3.(SBU) Four senior Department of Defense (DOD) environmental 
experts exchanged information with their Czech counterparts 
at the Ministry of Environment during the week of December 5. 
The team members stayed for the first day of SOFA 
negotiations to help the legal team draft language for the 
SOFA text. The Czechs largely accepted the U.S. proposal 
requiring the U.S. to respect, as opposed to comply with, 
Czech environmental laws. 
 
Criminal Jurisdiction 
 
4.(SBU) Per reftel, the Czechs refusal to provide a blanket, 
advance waiver of primary criminal jurisdiction had been one 
of the major stumbling blocks to completing the SOFA 
agreement. During this round, the U.S. accepted the Czech 
proposal that the Czechs would have primary jurisdiction over 
any offenses committed outside of the radar base. However, 
the U.S. can ask the Czechs to waive their right of 
jurisdiction. If the Czechs agree or do not respond within 30 
days, the U.S. will have primary jurisdiction over the case. 
This is similar to the formulation the U.S. has in other 
countries, e.g. Spain. 
 
Construction Disputes 
 
5.(SBU) Both sides also developed a mechanism to resolve 
construction disputes. The U.S. agreed to provide the Czech 
executive agent, most likely the Ministry of Defense, with 
drawings and plans for any construction projects at the 
proposed facility.  The Czech authorities will have the right 
to monitor construction projects to insure compliance with 
the submitted plans. However, if the inspector believes the 
project deviates from the plans, he or she must seek approval 
from a senior MOD official to suspend construction. A 
U.S.-Czech Joint Commission would then seek to resolve the 
impasse. Unfortunately, the Czechs still insist that their 
construction standards apply to the non-mission areas of the 
proposed radar facility. 
 
Taxes and Labor Issues 
 
6.(SBU) The fourth round revealed that the SOFA tax 
provisions remain one of the major outstanding issues. Czech 
Ministry of Finance officials are still struggling to 
comprehend many of the SOFA,s concepts. They also must fully 
understand their relationship to European Union directives, 
Czech domestic legislation, the U.S.-Czech Treaty for the 
Avoidance of Double Taxation, and existing obligations under 
the NATO SOFA. The Czechs continue to insist that all 
employment at the radar facility conform to the Czech,s very 
restrictive labor laws. The planned expert consultations 
before the next round should help resolve these two areas of 
concern. 
 
7.(U) Ambassador McDonald cleared this cable. 
Thompson-Jones