ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY - ON BOARD WITH MOST USG

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004021 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/04/2013 TAGS: PREL MARR IT EUN ESDP SUBJECT: ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY - ON BOARD WITH MOST USG VIEWS FOR GYMNICH REF: A) STATE 250490 B) ROME 3976 C) ROME 4001 D) STATE 223920 Classified By: POL MINISTER-COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN. REASON: 1.5 (B)( D). ¶1. (C) Poloff discussed all points ref a with MFA European Correspondent Sandro DeBernadin on September 1. He promised to take them under consideration as he continued to draft Foreign Minister Frattini's briefing papers for the Gymnich, in consultation with appropriate bureaus within the MFA. His initial reaction was that there were no points within the demarche at odds with Italy's overall goals for the Gymnich. -------------- European Security Strategy (ESS) -------------- ¶2. (C) Speaking in his other role as Italy's ESDP policy coordinator, DeBernadin said that the Italian Presidency would continue to protect the NATO-EU relationship as defined in the Berlin-plus agreement, and that continued consultations among the US, NATO and EU would be critical to the success and validity of the ESS. As reported ref b, Italy is open to considering changes to current EU procedures whereby CFSP/ESDP decisions are adopted by consensus only, as long as those changes could be adopted in a manner that would not jeopardize Berlin-plus. We also delivered the ESS points to NATO office director Giovanni Brauzzi, who said that they reflected Italy's views on the NATO-ESDP relationship, but that the term "align" to reflect EU security policy coordination with NATO's may be too strong to use in the final document. -------------- IRAQ -------------- ¶3. (C) Luigi Maccotta, Deputy Director of the MFA Iraq Task Force, stressed that while there is sufficient political will to engage constructively within the EU, there are many unresolved questions such as: the role of a trust fund, how current account and future budget gaps can be closed, security, and the methodology of the needs assessments. Maccotta believes that the sine qua non for making headway is the passage of the third UNSC resolution. Maccotta noted that there was broad agreement in the Brussels core group meeting on September 3 that another core group face to face meeting is necessary to hammer out some of the unresolved issues. The meeting will take place the week of September 28 in Madrid. -------------- Peace Process -------------- ¶4. (C) De Bernadin agreed that the US and EU must continue to work together in the Quartet to contain the deteriorating situation in the region and avoid a complete unraveling of the small gains made in the MEPP thus far. He promised that designation of HAMAS as a terrorist organization would be on the Gymnich agenda and pushed by the Presidency, but was not optimistic that Italy could convince France to join consensus. FM Frattini and UK Foreign Secretary Straw confirmed that assessment during their August 29 conversation in Rome (septel). -------------- IRAN -------------- ¶5. (C) As reported ref c, MFA Secretary General Baldocci told the DCM on September 2 that Iranian noncompliance with the NPT Safeguards Agreement is Italy's concern as well and that he would advise Foreign Minister Frattini of the U.S. intent to seek an IAEA noncompliance resolution at the Board of Governors (BOG) meeting on 8 - 12 September. MFA Desk Officer for Iran Ferrari Bravo also told poloff that Iran is making progress in meeting its safeguard obligations and that a resolution at this time would only complicate matters. According to Ferrari Bravo, more "carrots" and less "sticks" are needed to obtain Iranian compliance. She emphasized that the Italians have pushed Teheran repeatedly to sign an IAEA Additional Protocol. -------------- New Neighbors -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Russia/NIS Office Director Marco Marsilli appreciated receiving the ref a points on New Neighbors, which he promised to incorporate into his input for the Gymnich as well as his own preparations for the September 3-5 COEST meetings in Brussels. On September 2 the DCM also reiterated with SYG Baldocci USG views (ref d) on the Moldova/Transnistria conflict. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME04021 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL