ITALIAN DEFMIN'S COMMENTS SPARK ANOTHER ROUND OF

UNCLAS ROME 000966 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MASS EU IT EUN SUBJECT: ITALIAN DEFMIN'S COMMENTS SPARK ANOTHER ROUND OF "EURO-SKEPTICISM" CHARGES ¶1. ITALIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ANTONIO MARTINO REVIVED OPPOSITION PARTY ACCUSATIONS THAT HE IS A "EURO-SKEPTIC" BY SUGGESTING THAT THE EU HAD RUSHED INTO CREATING ITS OWN MILITARY IDENTITY WITHOUT THINKING IT THROUGH. THE NUMBER OF TASKS APPROPRIATE FOR THE EU'S RAPID REACTION FORCE (RRF) SHOULD BE REDUCED TO "VERY FEW," MARTINO TOLD THE BRITISH "DAILY TELEGRAPH" IN A FEBRUARY 21 INTERVIEW. NATO HAS PROVEN TO BE THE BEST VEHICLE TO PERFORM MULTINATIONAL UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 ROME 00966 261857Z OPERATIONS OF BOTH AN OFFENSIVE AND PEACE-KEEPING NATURE, MARTINO SAID. IT HAS A COMMAND AND CONTROL STRUCTURE THAT WORKS -- SOMETHING THE RRF LACKS AT THIS POINT. "NATO WORKS," MARTINO STATED, ADDING, "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT." ¶2. MARTINO ASKED THE SPANISH EU PRESIDENCY TO CALL A MEETING OF EU DEFENSE MINISTERS TO RE-EXAMINE THE SCOPE OF THE PETERSBURG TASKS AND DECIDE WHICH ONES ARE FEASIBLE FOR THE RRF, ACCORDING TO THE INTERVIEW AND OTHER PRESS REPORTS. MARTINO PREDICTED THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE MANY MISSIONS THE RRF COULD CARRY OUT WITHOUT THERE BEING SOME DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE EU MEMBERS. HE CAUTIONED AGAINST CREATING "DIVISIVE SITUATIONS" AMONG MEMBERS. ¶3. ITALY'S CENTER-LEFT OPPOSITION QUICKLY JUMPED ON MARTINO'S STATEMENTS AS ANOTHER SIGN OF HIS -- AND THE BERLUSCONI ADMINISTRATION'S -- EURO-SKEPTICISM. COMING NOT LONG AFTER HIS PUBLIC DOUBTS ABOUT THE WISDOM OF A SINGLE EUROPEAN CURRENCY AND HIS VOCAL REFUSAL TO SUPPORT ITALY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE AIRBUS A400M MILITARY TRANSPORT PLANE, MARTINO'S COMMENTS ADD MORE FUEL TO THE FIRE. GIOVANNI FORCIERI, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE DEFENSE COMMITTEE AND OPPOSITION MEMBER, SAID MARTINO'S STATEMENTS WERE "SERIOUS" AND NOT USEFUL TO THE US OR NATO. GIUSEPPE MOLINARI, OPPOSITION LEADER ON THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES' DEFENSE COMMITTEE, CHARGED THAT ITALY IS BECOMING "FLATTENED OUT ON DEVOTIONAL ATLANTICSM," AND CALLED FOR MARTINO TO APPEAR BEFORE PARLIAMENT. CENTER-LEFT PARTY LEADER PIERO FASSINO NOTED THAT BERLUSCONI CLAIMED TO BE DEFENDING ITALY'S NATIONAL INTERESTS, WHICH FASSINO SAID USED TO MEAN BEING A UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 ROME 00966 261857Z PART OF EUROPE. OPPOSITION MEMBERS ALSO OBJECTED TO MARTINO'S REQUEST FOR AN EU DEFMIN MEETING WITHOUT FIRST HAVING CONSULTED WITH PARLIAMENT. ¶4. COMMENT. MARTINO'S COMMENTS ON THE RRF ARE FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT HE IS LESS DOGMATIC ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "PRO-EU" THAN MANY ITALIANS, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN THE OPPOSITION. HE IS AN ADVOCATE FOR EUROPEAN MILITARIES WITH RESTRUCTURED ARMED FORCES AND BETTER ARMAMENTS TO MEET GLOBAL SECURITY NEEDS, AND ARGUES THAT IF EUROPEANS HAD ALLOTTED MORE FUNDS FOR DEFENSE OVER THE YEARS, EUROPE WOULD HAVE GREATER INFLUENCE IN WASHINGTON. HE IS NOT THE ONLY MINISTER WILLING TO TAKE A PRACTICAL, AND OFTEN CONTROVERSIAL, LOOK AT EU INSTITUTIONS, BUT HIS RRF COMMENTS MAY BE A LITTLE OUT IN FRONT OF HIS PRIME MINISTER'S POSITION. IN A RECENT INTERVIEW IN "THE SUNDAY TIMES," BERLUSCONI SAID THAT THE RRF SHOULD WORK IN COOPERATION WITH NATO BUT BE COMPLETELY AUTONOMOUS. MARTINO MAY HEAR MORE ON THE SUBJECT FROM HIS EU COUNTERPARTS AT THE INFORMAL DEFENSE MINISTERS' MEETING SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 22-23 IN SARAGOSA. END COMMENT. SEMBLER UNCLASSIFIED > 2002ROME00966 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED