ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY: READOUT ON EU-UKRAINE SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 004663 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/ERA AND EUR/WE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2013 TAGS: PREL ECON UP IT EUN SUBJECT: ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY: READOUT ON EU-UKRAINE SUMMIT REF: STATE 281770 CLASSIFIED BY: POL MINISTER COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN. REASON: 1.5 (B)( D). ¶1. (C) POST PASSED POINTS REFTEL TO THE MFA EU OFFICE AND NIS OFFICE ON OCTOBER 3. ON OCTOBER 8, SILVIA COSTANTINI FROM THE MFA'S OFFICE OF EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS TOLD POLOFF THAT WHILE THE OCTOBER 7 UKRAINE-EU SUMMIT IN YALTA WAS SUCCESSFUL IN ADVANCING A NUMBER OF ISSUES RELATED TO UKRAINE'S INTEGRATION INTO EUROATLANTIC INSTITUTIONS, MUCH OF THE MEETING WAS CONSUMED WITH TAMPING DOWN THE UKRAINIAN SIDE'S INSISTENCE THAT THE EU PROVIDE AND ACKNOWLEDGE PUBLICLY A MORE RAPID SCHEDULE FOR FULL EU INTEGRATION. ¶2. (C) COSTANTINI SAID THAT UKRAINE WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH ITS STATUS AS A MEMBER OF THE "WIDER EUROPE-NEIGHBORHOOD" INITIATIVE, AND WANTED A MORE ROBUST ACCORD ALONG THE LINES OF THE BALKANS STABILIZATION AND ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT TO DEFINE THE UKRAINE-EU RELATIONSHIP. EU TROIKA REPRESENTATIVES PROMISED TO ASSIST UKRAINE (ALONG WITH MOLDOVA AND BELARUS) WITH THE INTEGRATION PROCESS UNDER CURRENT STRUCTURES. ¶3. (C) COSTANTINI SAID THAT THE PRESIDENCY DID NOT CRITICIZE UKRAINE'S PARTICIPATION IN THE SINGLE ECONOMIC SPACE (SES) PER SE, BUT INSISTED THAT ANY ECONOMIC ARRANGEMENTS IT ENTERS INTO COMPLY WITH EU AND WTO DIRECTIVES AND GUIDELINES, WHICH WOULD INCLUDE WIDER EUROPE FUNDS WHERE APPROPRIATE. THE PRESIDENCY ASKED FOR MORE DETAILS ON SES OBLIGATIONS AND WHAT IT MEANT FOR CONTINUED ECONOMIC REFORM. ¶4. (U) ACCORDING TO COSTANTINI, THE OTHER DETAILS OF THE SUMMIT ARE SPELLED OUT COMPLETELY IN THE JOINT STATEMENT AVAILABLE ON THE PRESIDENCY WEBSITE. SEPTEL WILL REPORT RESULTS OF THE BILATERAL ITALY-UKRAINE SUMMIT, WHICH TOOK PLACE THE FOLLOWING DAY, OCTOBER 8, ALSO IN YALTA. SEMBLER NNNN 2003ROME04663 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL