P/DAS RIES DISCUSSES US-EU SUMMIT DELIVERABLES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001401 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2009 TAGS: PREL KNNP EUN USEU BRUSSELS SUBJECT: P/DAS RIES DISCUSSES US-EU SUMMIT DELIVERABLES WITH EU WMD REP GIANNELLA REF: A. STATE 67849 ¶B. STATE 65685 Classified By: USEU Poloff Van Reidhead for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In a March 30 meeting with HR Solana's WMD Rep Annalisa Giannella, EUR P/DAS Charlie Ries shared preliminary USG thoughts about possible nonproliferation deliverables for the June US-EU Dublin Summit. Stressing that these were just early ideas and not formal proposals, Ries suggested that we might work toward agreements on achieving a successful NPT Revcon; implementing provisions of the draft UNSCR on nonproliferation; securing radioactive sources; and reinforcing the G-8 Sea Island Summit initiatives. Giannella agreed with the ideas in principle, and suggested two more ideas for possible Summit deliverables: promoting nonproliferation initiatives in the ASEAN Regional Forum and promoting initiatives to strengthen the IAEA. She agreed with Ries that the Summit statement should not just repeat past statements, but should include a meaningful new commitment to cooperate on specific issues. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Also in attendance were Council Policy Advisor Andreas Strubb and USEU Poloff Van Reidhead. NPT and UNSC Nonproliferation Resolution -------------- ¶3. (C) Giannella agreed that in principle our ideas looked promising, but cautioned that not all EU member states shared our views on the NPT. We would need some latitude to finesse the language of any declaration, noting that "not everyone" agrees with our proposal not to supply uranium enrichment or reprocessing equipment to countries that do not already possess enrichment or reprocessing facilities. On the draft UNSCR on nonproliferation, Giannella said that EU member states were supportive of the effort and would likely support a US-EU deliverable. (COMMENT: The EU Political and Security Committee has been discussing ways for the EU to enforce criminal sanctions on WMD-related material since January. One option is to issue a Council Declaration, which could be achieved relatively quickly, but which would only have the force of a political commitment by member states to implement the measures at the national level. Another is to create a "Third Pillar" legal mechanism at the EU level that would allow the Commission to oversee the harmonization of national sanctions and monitor member state enforcement. An internal PSC document (please protect) prepared by Giannella's office suggests that Giannella prefers both, i.e. seeking a political declaration as an immediate step and later creating a legal framework at the EU level. END COMMENT.) Sea Island Summit and Securing Radioactive Sources -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Giannella also agreed that securing radioactive sources would be a fruitful area for cooperation. She noted that the EU Summit in December adopted a Directive on securing sources, and said that the EU had already begun a diplomatic campaign to encourage other countries to do the same. On reinforcing the message of the G-8 Sea Island Summit, Giannella said that while the idea was worth pursuing, the G-8 format could be awkward for the EU because most member states are not directly involved. Stressing that her view on this was strictly personal, she said that we would have a better chance at incorporating G-8 nonproliferation initiatives into the US-EU Summit if we consulted directly with non-G8 EU member states. Strubb pointed out that we should keep Giannella and himself in the loop on this issue because they were supportive of the idea and would be able to promote it the PSC context. ARF and IAEA -------------- ¶5. (C) Giannella said she was pleased with the recent US-proposed statement on nonproliferation for the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial in July (ref. B). Yet we should go even further, she said. One idea would be for the US and EU, and perhaps Australia, Canada and others, to work together within the ARF to bring all of its member states into the nonproliferation regimes. Ries agreed that US-EU cooperation in the ARF could be fruitful, and said he would take it back for consideration in the context of the US-EU Summit. Giannella also suggested using the Summit to reinforce shared ideas on strengthening the IAEA. She said that while one "major" EU member state is still blocking EU consensus on making the Additional Protocol (AP) a condition of supply in the NSG, she thought that this obstacle would soon be resolved. Save for the unnamed holdout, EU member states are very supportive of this effort, she said, and it might make a good point for the Summit. Schnabel