GOI SUPPORT FOR U.S. ICAO CANDIDACY APPEARS LIKELY

UNCLAS ROME 002349 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO/T - FOSTRANDER; MONTREAL FOR USICAO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR ECON IT FAA SUBJECT: GOI SUPPORT FOR U.S. ICAO CANDIDACY APPEARS LIKELY REF: SECSTATE 129597 ¶1. ACCORDING TO FRANCESCO ERCOLANO, NEW COUNSELOR IN THE ITALIAN MFA'S DIRECTORATE FOR ECONOMIC AND MULTILATERAL COOPERATION, ITALY IS UNOFFICIALLY LIKELY TO SUPPORT THE UNITED STATES BID FOR RE-ELECTION TO PART 1 OF THE ICAO COUNCIL. ERCOLANO POINTED OUT THAT ITALY IS ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF LOBBYING FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS TO SUPPORT ITS ICAO COUNCIL CANDIDACY, AND REQUESTED EMBASSY ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING A RESPONSE FROM WASHINGTON TO GOI'S DEMARCHE ON THE ISSUE. ¶2. ECONOFF SPOKE WITH ERCOLANO ON JUNE 17 AFTER FORWARDING REFTEL DEMARCHE AND TALKING POINTS ON JUNE 15. ERCOLANO CONFIDED THAT THE PROCESS OF DEMARCHE EXCHANGE ON THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE MERELY A FORMALITY, SINCE, AS ALLIES, ITALY AND THE U.S. ARE LIKELY TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER'S CANDIDACIES. HE ACKNOWLEDGED THE SIGNIFICANT U.S. ROLE IN ICAO AND SAID THAT IT WOULD BE HARD TO IMAGINE THE U.S. NOT BEING REPRESENTED IN PART 1 OF THE COUNCIL. ¶3. ERCOLANO SUMMARIZED THE PARALLEL U.S. AND ITALIAN DEMARCHES ON THEIR RESPECTIVE ICAO CANDIDACIES BY SAYING THAT THE ITALIAN RESPONSE TO THE U.S. DEMARCHE WOULD LIKELY BE THE SAME AS THE U.S. RESPONSE TO THE ITALIAN DEMARCHE. GIVEN THE STATED U.S. POLICY NOT TO REVEAL SUPPORT IN ADVANCE FOR CANDIDACIES TO MULTILATERAL FORA SUCH AS THE ICAO COUNCIL, IT IS THEREFORE LIKELY THAT THE GOI WILL SUPPORT THE U.S. CANDIDACY BEHIND THE SCENES WHILE REMAINING OFFICIALLY AND PUBLICLY COY AND NONCOMMITTAL. VISIT ROME'S CLASSIFIED WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.STATE.SGOV.GOV/P/EUR/ROME/INDEX.CF M SEMBLER NNNN 2004ROME02349 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED