Poland was as late as October not decided yet on how to approach the issue of President Robert Mugabe attending the European Union-Africa summit in Lisbon.
The summit was to be held on 8 and 9 December.
The director for EU affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pawel Herczynski said while he sympathised with Britain’s position that Prime Minister Gordon Brown would not attend if Mugabe was present Poland also wanted the Summit to go forward because of the large number of important issues that needed to be addressed.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 07WARSAW2091, POLAND: MFA OFFICIAL REVIEWS GAERC AGENDA;
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Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO6958
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHWR #2091/01 2841419
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 111419Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5325
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 002091
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2017
TAGS: EUN PREL PGOV ETRD ETTC KPAL WTO PL
SUBJECT: POLAND: MFA OFFICIAL REVIEWS GAERC AGENDA;
EXPRESSES OPTIMISM ON UPCOMING EU SUMMIT
REF: SECSTATE 141316
Classified By: Polcouns Mary T. Curtin for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).
¶1. (C) Summary: PolCouns met October 11 with Pawel
Herczynski, MFA Deputy Director for EU Affairs, to review
reftel issues in advance of the October 15-16 EU Foreign
Ministers meeting. While most of his comments were
predictable, Herczynski added a new twist on Poland’s
approach to EU-Russia policy, saying that, if the meat ban is
not resolved, Poland will block not only a new EU-Russia
agreement, but also will block EU common policy on Russia’s
admission to the WTO. Separately, on the upcoming EU Summit,
Herczynski expressed optimism for a successful Summit,
indicating that Poland will accept reference to the Ioanina
mechanism outside the EU Reform Treaty itself. End Summary.
¶2. (C) Regarding the Summit, Herczynski opened by saying
that, while he had “no idea” of what would eventually
transpire, there was, since President Kaczynski’s October 8
visit to France, a very “constructive spirit” toward the
summit and the unresolved issues regarding the EU Reform
Treaty, something we had heard earlier from other EU
diplomats. Herczynski said Kaczynski would travel to Berlin
October 12 to continue discussions, and that it looked like
countries were “close to a satisfactory solution.” Poland
did not, he said, want to be seen to be blocking the Treaty.
On the Ioanina mechanism to allow countries to block action
they did not support, he said Poland had wanted to have it in
the main body of the Treaty, but Poland was the only country
supporting the idea. Poland’s “main partners” are, he said,
ready to find some other way to refer to mechanism and to
make it “legally binding.” (Note: We separately heard from
French and German diplomats that Poland will accept reference
to the mechanism in a political statement. End Note) Poland
will likely decide to opt out of the Chart of Fundamental
Rights, but will note its acceptance of the social rights,
with which it has no problems.
¶3. (C) Herczynski said Poland had two other
procedural/administrative issues it would press for. It
wanted the number of Advocates General increased from eight.
The number needed, he said, to be increased to reflect the
larger number of member states. Under the rotational method
currently in place, Poland would not have someone in the
position for decades. Poland also wants to change how
decisions are made at the European Central Bank (ECB),
especially with regard to the financing of major
infrastructure projects. In particular, it wants to make
sure that projects such as the Russian-German pipeline, which
bypasses Poland and other EU countries, does not receive ECB
financing.
¶4. (C) On the GAERC, Herczynski provided the following
comments:
–DOHA issues will not be addressed at the upcoming GAERC.
–Kosovo: Poland’s position remains close to that of the U.S.
He noted that Slovenia has put forth a proposal, which
Poland opposes, to speed up the opening of the EU to Serbia,
in order to get Serbia to move on Kosovo. Poland is open to
expansion, but believes Serbia must meet all criteria,
including full cooperation with the ICTY. Opening to Serbia
should not, Poland believes, be linked to its acceptance of
Kosovo’s status.
–Russia: Expectations are low for the upcoming October 26
EU-Russia Summit. Poland will press the Troika to raise
Russia’s ban on Polish meat and plants. He emphasized that
Poland is still very determined not to let negotiations on a
new EU-Russia agreement go forward until the meat issue is
solved. He then added that, “if forced,” Poland will also
block a EU common position supporting Russia’s entry into the
WTO if there is no progress on the meat ban. Herczynski said
he could not predict the outcome of Poland’s October 21
elections, but said that if this government remains in place,
this position will hold firm. (Note: He would not speculate
on what other parties would do.)
–Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process: Herczynski said that
Poland is looking forward to the international meeting, and
hopes that Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, will
participate.
–Iran: Poland believes the EU should start internal
preparations for autonomous sanctions on Iran, outside the
UNSC framework, supporting the French/German initiatives on
this issue. He said he expected the COREPER to address the
issue today (October 11).
–Chad: Poland will be sending troops to Chad under the
WARSAW 00002091 002 OF 002
French-led joint ESDP/UN peacekeeping operation to Eastern
Chad. Herczynski did not have the details on the deployment,
and indicated that those were still being worked with the
French.
–Zimbabwe: Herczynski said Poland is undecided how to
approach the difficult issue of deciding about the presence
of Robert Mugabe at the December EU-Africa Summit. He noted
the UK position that it will not attend at a high level if
Mugabe is there. Poland has sympathy for this position given
its own struggle for democracy and its support for democracy
around the world, but also wanted the Summit to go forward
because of the large number of important issues that needed
to be addressed. He asked if the U.S. had a position on that
issue.
ASHE
(95 VIEWS)
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