ITALIAN VIEWS ON GALILEO NEXT STEPS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004495 SIPDIS STATE FOR OES/SAT: RALPH BRAIBANTI AND EUR/ERA: MARJA VERLOOP E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2008 TAGS: TSPA ECPS IT NATO EUN SUBJECT: ITALIAN VIEWS ON GALILEO NEXT STEPS REF: SECSTATE 270600 PAGE 02 ROME 04495 301626Z CLASSIFIED BY: ECONOMIC MINISTER COUNSELOR SCOTT KILNER FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 1.(C) EST COUNSELOR DISCUSSED REFTEL POINTS WITH TRANSPORT MINISTRY FOREIGN AFFAIRS ADVISOR EMILIO MARAINI ON SEPTEMBER ¶29. MARAINI HAS LONG BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT GALILEO AND THE SECURITY ISSUES THE PROJECT RAISES. HE WAS PRESENT AT A U.S. CLASSIFIED BRIEFING IN BRUSSELS EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT, IN HIS WORDS, "RAISED SERIOUS SECURITY CONCERNS." A BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH HILBRECHT AFTER THE LONDON BRIEFING HAD RAISED HIS HOPES THAT THESE CONCERNS WERE BEING SATISFACTORILY ADDRESSED, BUT MARAINI IS NOW LESS OPTIMISTIC AFTER THE FORMAL INTRA-EU BRIEFING ON THE LONDON DISCUSSIONS. MARAINI STRESSED, AS HE HAS REPEATEDLY, THAT THE FINAL DECISION ON GALILEO AND U.S. CONCERNS MUST AND WILL BE MADE BY EU HEADS OF GOVERNMENT, WITH ITALY'S POSITION DETERMINED BY PRIME MINISTER BERLUSCONI. ¶2. (SBU) POL-MIL OFFICER ALSO DELIVERED POINTS TO MFA NATO AFFAIRS OFFICE DIRECTOR GIOVANNI BRAUZZI AND MOD DIPLOMATIC ADVISOR FRANCESCO TRUPIANO, BOTH OF WHOM HAD LITTLE TO ADD. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: SENIOR ITALIAN OFFICIALS STILL SEEM TO BE PINNING THEIR HOPES FOR A SOLUTION ON A TECHNICAL FIX. AT THE SAME TIME, MANY ARE FINALLY WAKING UP TO THE FACT THAT THE CULMINATING ACT OF ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY COULD BE A MAJOR TRANSATLANTIC TRAIN WRECK OVER GALILEO/M-CODE. EMBASSY RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO ELEVATE THIS TO THE POLITICAL LEVEL IN ITALY WILL BE SENT SEPTEL. SEMBLER PAGE 03 ROME 04495 301626Z NNNN 2003ROME04495 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL