US embassy cable - 05PRAGUE26

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRAGUE 000026 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPAL, IZ, EZ, MEPP 
SUBJECT: CZECH MEP ON REPAIRING US-EUROPE RELATIONS 
 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Kimberly C. Krhounek for reasons 
1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  Longtime embassy contact and Member of the 
European Parliament (MEP) Jana Hybaskova termed herself 
shocked by the depth of anti-American feeling she has found 
at European institutions such as the Council and Commission, 
including knee-jerk reactions opposing any U.S. involvement 
in areas of EU concern.  She urged that the USG make 
relations with Europe a priority, "invite" European countries 
to participate more fully in Iraq and the MEPP, and make 
greater use of NATO as a unifying force to achieve common 
objectives.  End summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) On January 4, we met with Czech MEP Jana Hybaskova 
during a visit home from Brussels.  A fluent Arabic and 
English speaker, Ms. Hybaskova had a 15 year career with the 
Czech MFA where she served as head of the Middle East 
Department and as Czech Ambassador to both Slovenia and 
Kuwait.  While in Kuwait, she proved to be an instrumental 
ally in getting coalition allies involved on the ground in 
Iraq.  Thanks in large part to her energy and effort, the 
Czechs had up to 16 experts working for the CPA, deployed an 
NBC unit and field hospital to Iraq, and launched 
humanitarian assistance programs which now include training 
diplomats, police and Iraqi judges.  Since being elected as 
one of the Czech Republic's first MEPs in June 2004, Ms. 
Hybaskova has joined the Group of European People's 
Party-European Democrats and chairs the Delegation for 
relations with Israel, among other committee assignments. 
Ms. Hybaskova has very strong views on the importance of the 
transatlantic relationship, and has been one of our biggest 
supporters on Middle East issues including Iraq and the MEPP. 
 
3.  (C) Hybaskova said one of the biggest shocks she received 
in Brussels was seeing the depth of anti-American sentiment 
within EU institutions.  While the European Parliament 
members are less virulent because they have such diverse 
constituency needs, she found the European Commission and 
Council to be "really, really anti-American."  As one 
example, she cited the Commission's plan to cut a program 
from 20 million euros to 4 million euros, until someone made 
the argument that if that particular program was cut, the 
Americans would "come in and fill the gap."  Immediately, the 
20 million euro allotment was restored.  She said that such a 
simple, knee jerk reaction is very common and is routinely 
used by MEPs to keep their pet projects funded. 
 
4.  (C) Hybaskova was very pleased that President Bush would 
soon be traveling to Europe and hoped the visit would be seen 
as a signal to Europeans that the USG values the 
transatlantic relationship.  She urged that the USG "invite, 
and I mean really invite" European countries to be more 
involved in planning and developments in Iraq and also in 
Israel and the Palestinian territories, as these were still 
the most sensitive issues in our relations.  She said that 
many Europeans are convinced that the USG only wants their 
money to fund projects, but that they are not welcome at the 
table to plan how best to implement important steps forward. 
She further urged that the USG use NATO as a primary unifying 
organization.  The NATO training mission in Iraq is a good 
example, as there is already a high degree of unity and 
consensus at NATO, so bringing it into areas where it has 
competence will make Europeans feel more involved. 
 
5.  (C) Comment.  Ms Hybaskova was clearly dismayed by the 
extent to which the dispute over Iraq had colored our 
relationship with the most important EU institutions.  Like 
many Central Europeans, she holds NATO in very high esteem, 
and believes that the USG will be able to achieve greater 
European involvement in Iraq and other areas by essentially 
"going around the EU" and operating through NATO's consensus 
mechanisms.  This is one way to avoid the politically charged 
atmosphere in Brussels.  As a long-time Arabist, Ms. 
Hybaskova will continue to play an important role in Middle 
East issues (she is currently planning to participate in EP 
election observer missions to the Palestinian Authority and 
Iraq), only now on the broader EU stage.  Given her youth 
(age 39) and energy, she can be one of those who will most 
strongly influence these issues within the EU during the 
coming years.  End comment. 
 
6. BAGHDAD MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
 
HILLAS