US embassy cable - 05PARIS1617

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001617 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, FR, PL 
SUBJECT: FIRST FRANCO-POLISH SUMMIT, FEB. 28, ARRAS, FRANCE 
 
REF: WARSAW 1204 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso 
ns 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: President Chirac hosted Polish President 
Kwasniewski and several ministers for the debut Franco-Polish 
summit in Arras (northern France) on Feb. 28. French media 
emphasized that Paris and Warsaw "sealed their 
reconciliation" (Le Figaro, Mar. 1) at the summit. Both the 
MFA desk for Poland and the Polish Embassy here noted the 
positive tone of the meetings, the breadth of issues 
discussed in the joint communique (available in French at 
www.elysee.fr) and the recognition that any modification to 
the French ban of Polish workers from the labor market will 
have to wait until after France's May 29 referendum on the 
draft European constitutional treaty.   END SUMMARY 
 
2.  (U) During Kwasniewski's October 2004 visit to France, 
President Chirac proposed commencing annual summits, such as 
France currently holds with the UK, Spain, Italy and Germany 
(the Franco-German summits being twice yearly).  The French 
chose to host the summit in the Pas-de-Calais because the 
region is home to some 500,000 French citizens of Polish 
origin.  The summit capped an acceleration of high-level 
bilateral exchanges, following not only Kwasniewski's October 
trip to France, but the November bilateral governmental 
seminar held in Paris, Foreign Minister Barnier's January 
trip to Poland, and Chirac's January 27 attendance at the 
ceremonies commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz. 
 
3.  (U)  Demonstrating the scope of issues to be considered 
at the summit, seven ministers accompanied each president. 
The list of ministerial participants included: 
 
French side 
Interior Minister Villepin 
Foreign Minister Barnier 
Transport Minister Robien 
Agriculture/Rural Minister Bussereau 
Minister Delegate of Agriculture/Rural Ministry Patrick 
Devedjian 
Labor Minister in the Employment, Labor and Social Affairs 
Ministry Gerard Larcher 
Minister for European Affairs in the MFA Claudie Haignere 
 
Polish side 
Vice Minister and Economy/Labor Minister Hausner 
Foreign Minister Rotfeld 
MSWIA Minister Kalisz 
Finance Minister Gronicki 
Agriculture Minister Olejniczak 
Equipment Minister Krzysztof Opawski 
UKIE State Secretary Pietras 
 
 
4.  (C)  At the end of the day, Presidents Chirac and 
Kwasniewski issued both a Communique underlining French and 
Polish support for UNSCR 1559 and for the UN investigation 
into the assassination of former Prime Minister Hariri and a 
declaration detailing the subjects of discussion. In 
addition, they held a joint press conference at the end of 
the afternoon.  Prior to the summit, President Chirac granted 
an interview to Gazeta Wyborcza, which appeared the day of 
the summit. 
 
5.  (C) The Polish Embassy here characterized the ambiance of 
the meeting as extremely good; they noted that the two 
presidents were able to speak frankly.  The summit 
declaration detailed the subjects discussed:  Within the 
European context they were CFSP, the European Neighborhood 
Policy (especially as pertains to Ukraine), Russia, the 
Lisbon strategy, the draft constitution, the budget framework 
for 2007 to 2013, and the reforms to the Stability Pact. 
Global affairs discussed included Iraq and the MEPP, UN 
reform, and the role of the Council of Europe.  In regard to 
bilateral relations, the two teams discussed agriculture, 
Poland's eventual accession to the Schengen group, military 
cooperation, Lot's future airliner purchase, and the 
possibility of France opening up its labor market to Polish 
workers. 
 
6.  (C) The working group created at the November 
governmental seminar to consider how France could liberalize 
its labor market to accept Poles presented its initial draft 
to the presidents (observers will recall that France adopted 
the initial derogation of two years provided for during the 
accession negotiations; at the expiration of those two years 
-- i.e. in May 2006 -- France can extend the ban for another 
three years, drop the ban, or make some other agreement with 
individual new member countries).  According to the proposal, 
the French would not open the entire labor market to Polish 
workers all at one time, but instead would open up specific 
labor sectors in specific geographical locations (calling for 
nurses in Auvergne, for example, or construction workers in 
Brittany).  The Embassy here described the reaction of the 
French to the proposal as "good enough," but said the French 
made it clear that with the runup to the May referendum on 
the draft European constitution, it is not yet a propitious 
time to consider lifting the derogations.  Our MFA 
interlocutor confirmed that there would be no movement before 
the French referendum and added that the French would seek to 
implement at least some element(s) of the proposal by May 1, 
2006 (the end of the first two-year derogation), but added, 
"That could mean April 30." 
 
7.  (C) The Polish Embassy characterized President Chirac as 
"very positive" on trans-atlantic relations, noting that 
Chirac told Kwasniewski that he sees a "new movement" on the 
part of the US, and that Europe must take advantage of it. 
He told Kwasniewski that after his recent meetings with the 
Secretary and the President, he is convinced that President 
 
SIPDIS 
Bush believes it needs a "solid" Europe as a strong partner 
to work with.  In public remarks during the joint press 
conference, Kwasniewski said that good relations between 
Washington and/or Paris and Berlin are a "guarantee of 
security for ourselves," and noted that the Poles welcome the 
return to an active transatlantic dialogue with satisfaction. 
 
8.  (C) During the discussion of Lot's planned acquisition of 
airliners, Chirac "insisted" that Poland buy Airbus, 
according to the Polish embassy.  In response to a query 
during the press conference, Kwasniewski said that Chirac had 
evoked the Airbus question in its European dimension, "that 
is to say that it's a big European project that should engage 
all European countries, whether it's involving production or 
using the planes." 
 
9.  (C)  According to the Polish Embassy, the two leaders 
discussed Ukraine mainly in the context of Russia.  Chirac 
told Kwasniewski that it is necessary to pay attention to how 
the West treats Russia and Putin, that the situation in 
Russia is fragile and one must not take careless shots that 
could damage progress, that steps are being made little by 
little.  Kwasniewski pressed back, emphasizing that Poland 
can understand fragility, and that the West must remember the 
fragility with which the countries of the former USSR and 
Warsaw Pact emerged from decades of Soviet domination.  We 
can't change that history, he told Chirac.  Kwasniewski also 
emphasized that European policy toward Russia must be a 
Union-wide, consensual policy, and not just one of Germany 
and France. 
 
10.  (C) Regarding Schroeder's Munich remarks, Chirac said he 
was completely in accord with them.  Kwasniewski said that 
whatever the outcome, NATO must remain the core element of 
trans-atlantic engagement and European defense. 
 
11.  (C) Additionally, Kwasniewski petitioned Chirac to 
include Poland in the five-country informal working group of 
countries discussing immigration, currently comprising 
France, Italy, the UK, Spain and Germany.  Chirac promised to 
consider the request but was non-committal, according to the 
Embassy. 
 
12. (C) Our Polish contact here was careful last fall not to 
oversell to us the import of Kwasniewski's October 2004 
visit.  She noted that it had gone well, but it had probably 
been more valuable for the strengthening of working-level 
contacts as the two sides planned for that meeting, and as a 
ground-breaker, rather than for any real breakthrough.  In 
contrast, she was very pleased with the outcome of the 
summit, making it clear that the Polish Embassy in Paris sees 
the rapprochement between the two states as growing more and 
more solid.  In the press conference, Chirac mentioned French 
divergences with Poland over Iraq, noting, "That's the past." 
 The French press sold the story as well, with headlines 
noting the "sealing" of Franco-Polish reconciliation.  The 
MFA desk officer, however, remained a bit skeptical, 
describing the glowing descriptions of the event as a bit 
"irrational."  He noted President Chirac's interest in 
strengthening relations with all/all of the five other EU 
"grands:" Germany, the UK and Italy, but also Spain and 
Poland.  The French realize, as Chirac noted in his Gazeta 
interview, that the French, Germans and Poles together make 
up 40 percent of the EU population, and, as the desk officer 
characterized it, "coalitions of the willing" are the way of 
the EU-25, where groups will coalesce in specific issue areas 
where they share interests (Chirac specifically pointed to 
agriculture as one area during his remarks). 
 
13.  (C)  The biannual Weimar Triangle meeting of the two 
presidents and German Chancellor Schroeder is planned for May 
19 in Nancy, although the MFA pointed out the difficulties 
that meeting that date may pose, given the May 9 
commemorations of the end of World War II in Moscow, the May 
15 Vienna ceremonies commemorating the 50th anniversary of 
Austria regaining its full sovereignty, the May 16-17 Council 
of Europe Ministerial in Warsaw, the May 29 French 
referendum, and the possibility of Polish legislative 
elections in early June (reftel). He noted that the charged 
calendar would make it very difficult for the foreign 
ministers to find time to meet to prepare the Weimar Triangle 
summit.  The next Franco-Polish summit will occur in Spring 
2006 in Poland. 
Leach