VZCZCXRO5652
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHPG #0263/01 1351546
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151546Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1365
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 0098
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0047
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0803
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0043
RUEHVJ/AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO 0059
RUEHSI/AMEMBASSY TBILISI 0125
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0725
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0021

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRAGUE 000263 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
EUR/ERA WLUCAS, EUR/CE FOR ATRATENSEK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2014 
TAGS: EUN EZ EG PGOV PREL CE XF ZJ XA
SUBJECT: CZECH EU PRESIDENCY: COMMENTS ON UPCOMING MAY GAERC 
 
PRAGUE 00000263  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Acting POLEC Counselor Michael Dixon for reasons 1.4 (b) 
 and (d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On May 14 emboff spoke with Magdalena 
Janesova of the Czech MFA Department of Common Foreign and 
Security Policy in advance of the May 18-19 EU General 
Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC).  Of note were 
her comments on: the EU's Anti-Piracy efforts, Georgia, the 
EU-Russia Summit, Moldova, Bosnia, Iran, Israeli-Palestinian 
Peace, and Sri Lanka.  End Summary. 
 
---------- 
Anti-Piracy Efforts to be Extended 
---------- 
¶2. (SBU) According to Janesova, the EU will announce at the 
GAERC the extension of the Atalanta mandate through December 
¶2010.  The discussion at the May GAERC, will thus simply 
focus on evaluating the mission to date and addressing the 
limited EU assets available for this mission.  She noted that 
the European Commission (through its "Stability Instrument") 
has provided just over one million euros to Kenya since Kenya 
has agreed to assume responsibility for prosecuting captured 
pirates.  Janesova noted that the EU is also in talks with 
the Seychelles about prosecuting captured pirates.  When 
asked whether the EU member states were contemplating 
prosecuting pirates in Europe, Janesova noted that this was 
unlikely now that Kenya had stepped forward to assume this 
role. 
 
---------- 
Georgia 
---------- 
¶3. (C) French Foreign Minister Kouchner has sent a letter to 
his counterparts regarding what to do in Georgia, which like 
Iran, will be discussed during the restricted luncheon 
session.  The focus will be on strengthening relations with 
Georgia and they plan to discuss visa facilitation.  The idea 
is to perhaps lower visa fees, shorten the application, and 
perhaps provide easier access for Georgian students to the 
EU.  The EU FMs will also cover the internal situation, the 
international presence in Georgia, and the status of the 
Geneva talks.  Janesova expects that given everything that is 
in train (Geneva talks, OSCE developments, and UNOMIG), it 
may not be possible to have a thorough discussion, although 
she fully anticipates Georgia will be on the June GAERC as 
well. 
 
---------- 
EU-Russia Summit - an Update on Preparations and Goals 
---------- 
¶4. (SBU) The Czechs are planning that the EU-Russia Summit 
discussion at the GAERC will be mostly a technical update on 
summit negotiations.  With respect to Czech goals for the 
Summit, these fall into four areas.  First, the Czechs hope 
that this summit will help restore confidence in the 
EU-Russia relationship, which has been badly shaken by 
Russian actions in Georgia and during the gas crisis. 
Second, they plan to "take stock" of where things stand with 
PCA negotiations.  Third, they will discuss regional problems 
(such as Georgia and Moldova).  Fourth, they plan to discuss 
coordination on global issues (such as the financial crisis 
and climate change).  Janesova noted that as agreed early in 
the Czech EU Presidency, Czech President Vaclav Klaus will 
lead the Czech delegation, which will include Czech FM Jan 
Kohout and Czech European Correspondent Vaclav Balek. 
 
---------- 
Moldova - Dropped 
---------- 
¶5. (C) Moldova has been dropped from the GAERC agenda. 
According to Janesova, the Romanians pressed hard (apparently 
the pressure came from the President's office) to add Moldova 
to the agenda.  The Czechs, however, have pressed back that 
the GAERC is not the appropriate place for Romania to air 
bilateral issues.  (Note: Apparently Romania wanted to 
discuss the issue of Moldovan visas and Romanian passports. 
End Note.) 
 
---------- 
Bosnia - ALTHEA to Stay the Same for Now 
---------- 
 
PRAGUE 00000263  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Acknowledging that the EU would like to see Bosnia 
stand on its own two feet soon, she did note that the EU does 
not want or plan to reconfigure EUFOR ALTHEA at the moment. 
While some member state want to scale back the mission, 
Janesova commented that the idea of going to a 200-person 
training mission is perhaps something to consider far into 
the future.  She emphasized that the EU plans to keep things 
as they are, at the very least until the Office of the High 
Representative closes. 
 
---------- 
Israeli-Palestinian Peace 
---------- 
¶7. (C)  Janesova stated that the EU shares a similar 
perspective to the U.S. on Israeli-Palestinian peace and the 
need to uphold the Quartet principles.  She did note, 
however, that certain EU member states (and here she cited 
France, Ireland and Belgium) continue to raise the idea of 
engaging directly with Hamas.  The EU consensus remains, 
however, in support of the Quartet principles. 
 
---------- 
Strategic Discussion of Iran 
---------- 
¶8. (SBU)  The EU plans to have a strategic discussion of Iran 
during the restricted luncheon session.  Janesova noted that 
the EU is trying to be careful not to send mixed signals to 
Iran.  With respect to our point encouraging the EU to 
tighten sanctions, she noted that while the Czechs may be 
"hawks" on this issue, it is not easy to achieve consensus 
within the EU.  She pointed to the EU's "Southern Flank" as 
having a different philosophical approach to the efficacy of 
sanctions (Portugal and Cyprus for example) and that certain 
countries with economic interests in Iran resist pressure to 
tighten sanctions (here she mentioned Austria, Sweden, and 
Italy).  With respect to the recent release of Roxana Saberi, 
Janesova noted that the EU was pleased with the decision, 
although she noted that the EU has also raised the Durabi 
case with Iran, which unfortunately ended with her execution. 
 
---------- 
Sri Lanka 
---------- 
¶9. (SBU) Janesova noted that the Brits and French pressed to 
have Sri Lanka added to the agenda of the GAERC.  The 
discussion will primarily focus on a readout of the EU 
mission to Sri Lanka led by DFM Helena Bambasova earlier this 
week. 
Thompson-Jones