EU EXPANSION AMBASSADOR: PRO-TURKEY, DOUBTFUL ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 002180

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU SP EUN
SUBJECT: EU EXPANSION AMBASSADOR: PRO-TURKEY, DOUBTFUL ON
FRANCE-GERMANY-SPAIN TRIAD

Classified By: Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Political Counselor, for Reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) We met with Ambassador Jorge Fuentes, MFA Ambassador
on Special Mission for EU Enlargement, on May 28 to discuss
Spanish foreign policy inside the EU and the GOS's view on
further enlargement. Fuentes agreed with our assessment that
with the EU Parliamentary elections coming so soon after the
March general elections, the new Socialist government was
still in campaign mode. He said he believed that after the
June 13 EU elections, the Socialists could begin tackling
issues and ease up on the anti-US rhetoric. He predicted
that the Socialists would win a comfortable victory in the EU
elections, but that the Popular Party (PP) could close the
margin significantly if the PP could bring the lead Socialist
candidate's past (Josep Borrell, who withdrew as a candidate
for the Socialist presidential nomination in 1999 due to
associates implicated in financial corruption) into the
forefront.


2. (C) When asked about the efforts of President Zapatero to
return Spain to "the core of Europe" and the press accounts
of French President Chirac offering to bring Spain into the
French-German alliance, Fuentes replied that "nobody enters
the French-German alliance". He noted that other nations
have been brought in briefly for specific purposes,
mentioning Poland, Italy and the UK, but that all "ended up
on the street". He stated his opinion that Spain would have
to look out for its own interests in the EU, but that he did
not know if the Zapatero administration sees that yet.


3. (C) Regarding the negotiations on the EU Constitution,
Fuentes said that Spain would press to get the double
majority requirements increased from the current 50% of
countries and 60% of population to "55% or so of countries
and around 62% of population". He said he recognizes that
the French would not accept the 66% of population proposal
floated earlier by Spain and other members. When asked about
the Aznar administration's alliance with Poland inside the
EU, Fuentes stated that the strategic alliance with Poland
was "artificial to begin with", and that aside from some
preferential agreements committed to under Aznar, the
Zapatero administration would not have any huge bonds with
Poland.


4. (C) Fuentes is a proponent of Turkish admission to the EU
(giving an explanation of his position in a speech to the
Navy League here in Madrid),and he said that Spain favors
offering EU accession talks to Turkey. However, he said that
the EU is not likely to make such an offer due to French and
German objections.
ARGYROS