VATICAN HAPPY WITH TRIPS MORATORIUM, PRESSES FOR

UNCLAS VATICAN 000531 SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE (MENNUTI) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD PHUM PREL VT SUBJECT: VATICAN HAPPY WITH TRIPS MORATORIUM, PRESSES FOR FINAL AGREEMENT REF: A) STATE 26895 B) VATICAN 307 C) 02 VATICAN 6064 ¶1. DCM SHARED REF A FOLLOW-UP POINTS ON THE TRIPS MORATORIUM WITH VATICAN DFM MONS. PIETRO PAROLIN AND IO DIRECTOR MONS. OSVALDO NEVEZ ON FEBRUARY 2. BOTH EXPRESSED GRATITUDE FOR THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND REAFFIRMED THE HOLY SEE'S APPRECIATION FOR THE U.S. NEED TO DEFEND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN ORDER TO ENSURE CONTINUED RESEARCH AND UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 VATICA 00531 100944Z DEVELOPMENT AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASES. THEY WELCOMED THE U.S. MORATORIUM AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE TO ENSURE PHARMACEUTICAL ACCESS FOR THE NEEDIEST COUNTRIES, BUT REITERATED THEIR DESIRE TO SEE AN AGREEMENT REACHED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO IMPLEMENT THE DOHA DECLARATION. ¶2. MONSIGNOR NEVES WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO EXPLAIN THAT FOREIGN MINISTER TAURAN'S DECEMBER NOTE VERBALE URGING THE U.S. NOT TO BLOCK CONSENSUS ON DOHA (REF C) WAS THE RESULT OF PRESSURE ON THE HOLY SEE DELEGATION IN GENEVA FROM "A NUMBER OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES" AND REFLECTED THE HOLY SEE'S PERCEPTION AT THAT TIME THE USG WAS BLOCKING CONCLUSION OF A FINAL AGREEMENT. THEY SAID THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY OTHER COUNTRIES WITH R AND D INTERESTS WERE WILLING TO SUPPORT THE TEXT, WHILE THE U.S. WAS NOT. THE HOLY SEE NOW HAS A MORE COMPLETE APPRECIATION FOR THE U.S. POSITION, HOWEVER, AND BOTH OFFICIALS REPEATED THAT THE U.S. TRIPS ENFORCEMENT MORATORIUM WAS A "VERY IMPORTANT" MEASURE. PAROLIN AND NEVES UNDERSCORED THAT THE HOLY SEE WAS "PLEASED" WITH THE FACT THAT THE USG WAS GOING AHEAD WITH THE MORATORIUM IMMEDIATELY AND HAD BEEN JOINED BY THE EU. ¶3. LOOKING TO THE NEXT ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS IN GENEVA, NEVES SAID THE HOLY SEE WOULD CONTINUE TO PRESS FROM A PRINCIPLED HUMANITARIAN POSITION FOR A FINAL AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTING DOHA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. NEVES OFFERED THAT THE DISCUSSIONS HAD REACHED A "TECHNICAL LEVEL" AT WHICH HE BELIEVED MIDDLE GROUND COULD BE REACHED QUICKLY. ASKED WHAT INSTRUCTIONS THE HOLY SEE WOULD SEND ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID MARTIN, ITS GENEVA PERMANENT OBSERVER, THEY SAID HE WOULD RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS TO "PRESS ALL SIDES TO REACH A FINAL UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 VATICA 00531 100944Z AGREEMENT." (NOTE: MARTIN WILL VISIT ROME IN MARCH AND WE WILL SEEK TO REVIEW THE HOLY SEE'S POSITION ON TRIPS WITH HIM AT THAT TIME.) ¶4. IN CONCLUDING, DEPUTY FM PAROLIN, IN AN EFFORT TO SMOOTH OVER DIFFERENCES ARISING FROM THE CRITICAL STANCE THEY HAD ADOPTED IN DECEMBER (REFS B AND C),INTERJECTED THAT THE HOLY SEE "WANTED TO STRESS THAT IT IS HAPPY AND SUPPORTS" THE PRESIDENT'S STATE OF THE UNION ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE USG WOULD INCREASE HIV/AIDS FUNDING BY USD 10 BILLION. HE ALSO NOTED THAT THE HOLY SEE IS AWARE THAT AMERICAN PRIVATE SECTOR SUPPORT FOR HUMANITARIAN AND MEDICAL RELIEF IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD IS AN IMPORTANT, ALBEIT SOMETIMES OVERLOOKED, CONTRIBUTION. (NOTE; THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S CONTRIBUTION IS ALSO IMPORTANT AND OFTEN OVERLOOKED -- IT PROVIDES NEARLY 25 PERCENT OF AIDS CARE WORLD-WIDE). NICHOLSON UNCLASSIFIED > 2003VATICA00531 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED