UNCLAS THE HAGUE 002905

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

IO/S FOR D.LEIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AORC EWWT NL IMO
SUBJECT: IMO BUDGET DEMARCHE: DUTCH RESPONSE

REF: STATE 319349


1. (U) EconOff delivered ref demarche concerning the
proposed IMO 2004-05 budget increase to Ms. Marja Tiemens of
the Ministry of Transport on November 17. Ms. Tiemens said
the Netherlands feels the 13.6% increase is "high, but not
excessive." The Dutch have doubts that the current budget
will be adequate to support the IMO's expanding tasks,
including those in the area of maritime security, and
therefore "extra investment" may be needed. Nevertheless,
the Dutch will have a number of questions for the IMO council
about the budget, specifically on the increase in personnel
and what they see as questionable return on investment from
IT expenditures.


2. (SBU) Comment: The Dutch pay a high degree of
attention to the IMO and are budget-minded themselves.
Therefore, they could be useful allies to USG efforts to
reform the organization. However, their instinct to support
all institutions multilateral may prevent them from taking a
firm position against escalating budgets. End Comment.
RUSSEL