SPANISH RESPONSE TO EURO-MEDITERRANEAN MINISTERIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 001570 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2014 TAGS: ECON KMPI PHUM PREL SP EUN SUBJECT: SPANISH RESPONSE TO EURO-MEDITERRANEAN MINISTERIAL MEETING DEMARCHE REF: STATE 94871 Classified By: Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Political Counselor, for Reasons 1 .4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) We delivered reftel demarche on May 3 to Enrique Mora, Director of the MFA's Office of EU Foreign Policy and Common Security. Mora said that the EU states will be presenting their Middle East reform proposal (the EU's equivalent of our Greater Middle East Initiative) to the Arab states at this meeting. He added that as they are not certain what the Arab reaction will be, the EU does not have a public declaration planned at this moment. ¶2. (C) Guillermo Ardizone, MFA Director for Middle East Affairs, told us separately May 3 that FM Miguel Angel Moratinos expected to have bilateral meetings with Israeli FM Silvan Shalom and Palestinian envoy Nabil Sha'ath at the Dublin Castle Ministerial. Ardizone added that FM Shalom may pay an official visit to Madrid before the end of May, but that arrangements were still pending (the Political Counselor at the Israeli Embassy had also mentioned the possibility of a visit by FM Shalom to Spain). ARGYROS