ITALY ON ISRAEL, THE PA, AND THE MEPP BEFORE ITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 001665 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2013 TAGS: PREL EAID IT IS EAID IT IS KPAL KPALPREL SUBJECT: ITALY ON ISRAEL, THE PA, AND THE MEPP BEFORE ITS EU PRESIDENCY REF: ROME 1647 CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ROME 01665 01 OF 02 171655Z CLASSIFIED BY: POLITICAL MC THOMAS COUNTRYMAN FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND ( D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: TEN WEEKS BEFORE ASSUMING THE EU PRESIDENCY, ITALIAN MFA INDICATED THAT A VISIT BY PM BERLUSCONI TO ISRAEL WAS LIKELY TO OCCUR IN EARLY JUNE, EMPHASIZED ITALY'S POSITIVE BILATERAL RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL, UNDERLINED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONFERENCE ON PALESTINIAN REFORM AND ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION THAT WILL TAKE PLACE IN ROME MAY 28-29, AND WAS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE EU ENDORSING BERLUSCONI'S MARSHALL PLAN FOR THE PALESTINIAN ECONOMY. END SUMMARY. -------------- POSSIBLE VISITS TO ISRAEL AND THE REGION -------------- ¶2. (C) ON APRIL 15, POL MC MET WITH LUCA FERRARI, THE MFA'S OFFICE DIRECTOR FOR ISRAEL AND PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS. FERRARI SAID THAT BERLUSCONI AND SHARON ENJOYED WARM PERSONAL RELATIONS AND WERE IN REGULAR TELEPHONE CONTACT. BERLUSCONI WANTED TO VISIT ISRAEL BEFORE ITALY ASSUMED THE EU PRESIDENCY, PROBABLY IN THE FIRST TEN DAYS OF JUNE, SAID FERRARI. ARRANGING THIS TRIP, HE ADDED HOWEVER, DEPENDED ON BEING ABLE TO SET UP A MEANINGFUL MEETING WITH ABU MAZEN "WHILE AVOIDING ANYTHING MORE THAN A HANDSHAKE WITH ARAFAT." IF THAT PROVED TOO DIFFICULT, THE ALTERNATIVES WOULD BE EITHER FOR SHARON TO COME TO ITALY OR FOR BERLUSCONI TO GO TO JERUSALEM AND AVOID MEETING PALESTINIANS ALTOGETHER. BERLUSCONI WOULD LIKE TO VISIT JORDAN, EGYPT, AND POSSIBLY CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 ROME 01665 01 OF 02 171655Z SAUDI ARABIA ON THE SAME TRIP, SAID FERRARI. HE ADDED THAT SEPARATE GOI PLANS INVOLVED SENDING MANTICA, THE MFA'S UNDER SECRETARY FOR MIDDLE EASTERN AND AFRICAN AFFAIRS, TO LEBANON, SIPDIS SYRIA, AND PROBABLY ALSO JORDAN AND SAUDI ARABIA BEFORE ITALY ASSUMED THE EU PRESIDENCY ON JULY 1. THERE WAS NO PLAN FOR FM FRATTINI TO VISIT ANY OF THESE COUNTRIES, SAID FERRARI. POL MC ASKED THAT THE GOI CONSULT WITH US CLOSELY ON ANY POSSIBLE MEETING OF SENIOR GOI OFFICIALS WITH ABU MAZEN AND/OR ARAFAT. -------------- BILATERAL RELATIONS -------------- ¶3. (C) MANY EU COUNTRIES HAVE OFTEN "MADE THE MISTAKE OF KEEPING ISRAEL AT ARM'S LENGTH," LAMENTED FERRARI, THUS MINIMIZING THE EU'S INFLUENCE ON THE MEPP. THE GOI, ON THE OTHER HAND, HAS BEEN TRYING TO DEMONSTRATE TO ISRAEL THAT ITS INTEREST IS NOT LIMITED ONLY TO THE MEPP BUT EXTENDED TO BILATERAL TECHNICAL COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL, AS MANIFESTED BY VISITS IN RECENT MONTHS TO ISRAEL BY THE ITALIAN MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ITALIAN MINISTER OF PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES AND VICE MINISTER OF FOREIGN TRADE. -------------- CONFERENCE ON PALESTINIAN REFORM -------------- ¶4. (C) FERRARI UNDERLINED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONFERENCE THE GOI IS ORGANIZING IN ROME MAY 28-29 ON PALESTINIAN REFORM AND ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION. HE SAID THAT THE GOI HAS CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 ROME 01665 01 OF 02 171655Z CAREFULLY COORDINATED THIS CONFERENCE NOT ONLY WITH THE GREEK PRESIDENCY OF THE EU, BUT ALSO WITH THE ISRAELIS AND THE PALESTINIANS. FERRARI WAS VERY HOPEFUL FOR HIGH-LEVEL ATTENDANCE AT THIS CONFERENCE, AND EXPRESSED SPECIAL INTEREST IN A/S BURNS PARTICIPATING IN IT (REF A). HE ADDED THAT SEPARATE MEETINGS OF THE QUARTET MEMBERS COULD TAKE PLACE DURING THE CONFERENCE. -------------- EUROSMEC -------------- ¶5. (C) FERRARI WAS CAUTIOUSLY CONFIDENT THAT THE ITALIAN CANDIDATE LAURA MIRACHIAN WOULD REPLACE MIGAEL ANGEL MORATINOS AS THE EUROSMEC (EUROPEAN SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST COORDINATOR). FERRARI WAS HOPEFUL THAT MIRACHIAN WOULD BE INFORMALLY APPROVED BY THE EU FMS IN THEIR MAY 2 GYMNICH MEETING. HE FELT THE ITALIAN CANDIDATE HAD THE BACKING OF THE U.K., PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND GREECE. THE FRENCH, SAID FERRARI, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN OPPOSED TO AN ITALIAN CANDIDATE FOR THIS POSITION. THE FRENCH POSITION WAS NOW MORE UNYIELDING, GIVEN THE FRANCO-ITALIAN DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL DIFFERENCES ON IRAQ, BUT THE FRENCH WERE UNABLE TO PROMOTE ANY CREDIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO MIRACHIAN. ONCE AGAIN, SPEAKING CAUTIOUSLY, CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9628 PAGE 01 ROME 01665 02 OF 02 171655Z ACTION EUR-00 INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 CIAE-00 INL-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EAP-00 EB-00 OIGO-00 VC-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 LAB-01 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NEA-00 NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OMB-01 DHS-00 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SCT-00 SP-00 SSO-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-01 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 /004W -------------- 578AB1 171656Z /38 O 171658Z APR 03 FM AMEMBASSY ROME TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9337 INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY AMCONSUL MILAN PRIORITY AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 001665 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2013 TAGS: PREL EAID IT IS EAID IT IS KPAL KPALPREL SUBJECT: ITALY ON ISRAEL, THE PA, AND THE MEPP BEFORE ITS EU PRESIDENCY FERRARI SAID THAT, IF MIRACHIAN WERE TO OFFICIALLY BECOME THE EUROSMEC, SHE COULD ASSUME HER DUTIES THE SAME DAY ITALY CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 ROME 01665 02 OF 02 171655Z ASSUMES THE PRESIDENCY OF THE EU, ON JULY 1. -------------- THE "MARSHALL PLAN" -------------- ¶6. (C) ITALY WAS NOT GOING TO GIVE UP ON BERLUSCONI'S IDEA FOR A "MARSHALL PLAN" FOR THE PALESTINIAN ECONOMY. HOWEVER, FERRARI WAS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE EU ENDORSING THE MARSHALL PLAN IDEA. FIRST, MANY MEMBERS OF THE EU WOULD BE RELUCTANT TO GIVE ITALY, AND SPECIFICALLY BERLUSCONI, CREDIT FOR SUCH A PROGRAM. MORE IMPORTANTLY, MOST EU MEMBERS WERE NOT INTERESTED IN POOLING THEIR BILATERAL DONATIONS TO THE PALESTINIANS, BEYOND THAT ALREADY MANDATED BY THE EU BUDGET. SEMBLER CONFIDENTIAL > 2003ROME01665 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL