ARTICLE 98/ITALY: NO CHANGE IN ROME'S POSITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004460 SIPDIS PARIS PLEASE PASS TO U/S BOLTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2013 TAGS: EU IT MARR PHUM PREL EUN SUBJECT: ARTICLE 98/ITALY: NO CHANGE IN ROME'S POSITION CLASSIFIED BY: POLITICAL MINISTER-COUNSELOR THOMAS COUNTRYMAN, REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) DURING A SEPTEMBER 26 MEETING DEVOTED TO OTHER ISSUES, POL MC RAISED THE ISSUE OF ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENTS WITH CLAUDIO PAGE 02 ROME 04460 291757Z BISOGNIERO, DEPUTY TO MFA POLITICAL DIRECTOR ARAGONA. NOTING THE SCHEDULED OCTOBER 1 MEETING BETWEEN UNDERSECRETARY BOLTON AND ARAGONA, POL MC REMINDED ARAGONA THAT THE USG CONTINUES TO ATTACH GREAT IMPORTANCE TO PROTECTION OF AMERICAN PERSONNEL, AS ALLOWED BY THE TREATY OF ROME. SOME 65 COUNTRIES HAVE NOW SIGNED ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENTS WITH THE US. WE REMAIN EAGER TO BUILD ON THIS MOMENTUM BY CONVINCING OUR CLOSEST FRIENDS IN THE EU TO JOIN THIS GROUP. POL MC ASKED IF ITALIAN THINKING ON THE ISSUE HAD EVOLVED RECENTLY. ¶2. (C) BISOGNIERO NOTED THAT IT WAS ITALY AND LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES, NOTABLY THE UK, WHICH HAD PREVENTED THE EU, LAST YEAR AND AGAIN THIS YEAR, FROM ESTABLISHING A MORE HARD-LINE POSITION ON THE NEGOTIATION OF SUCH AGREEMENTS. ITALY SUBSCRIBES FULLY TO THE COMMON EU POSITION, WHICH DOES NOT RULE OUT BILATERAL AGREEMENTS AS LONG AS CERTAIN CRITERIA ARE MET. BISOGNIERO SAID THAT THIS ITALIAN POSITION HAD NOT CHANGED SINCE THE BILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS IN ROME LAST OCTOBER WITH AMBASSADOR LINO. AS USEFUL AS THOSE DISCUSSIONS HAD BEEN, ITALY WAS STILL AWAITING ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS REFERRED BACK TO WASHINGTON, ESPECIALLY ON THE CENTRAL ISSUE OF SCOPE. WHILE THE MFA IS ALWAYS HAPPY TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE WITH U/S BOLTON, IT VIEWED REACHING A COMMON DEFINITION OF SCOPE AS ESSENTIAL TO MOVING FORWARD ON AN AGREEMENT. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME04460 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL