AUSTRALIANS SEEK COMMON POSITION WITH U.S.ON WCDR

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000072

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2015
TAGS: PREL EAID AS JA CA EUN UN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIANS SEEK COMMON POSITION WITH U.S.ON WCDR
AND EU ADDITIONALITY

REF: A. HUIZINGA-CHASE/LUCAS/PEAY E-MAILS


B. 01/06/05

Classified By: USEU POLOFF TODD HUIZINGA FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D


1. (C) SUMMARY: We met with counterparts from the Australian
Mission to the EU, at their request, to discuss EU
additionality and the World Conference on Disaster Reduction
(WCDR),to be held in Kobe January 18-22. The Australians
said Canberra was concerned, in the context of the tsunami
disaster, about &perceptions that may arise if Australia
were seen as letting a procedural concern8 such as
additionality hinder the Kobe conference,s mobilization of
support for those affected by the tsunami. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) In their January 7 meeting with Poloff, Alison Burrows
(protect),Minister, and Catherine Dobbin (protect),Third
Secretary, said the Australian position on additionality

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remained broadly in agreement with the U.S. They said that
Australia was developing a specific stance on the status and
rights of the European Commission at WCDR, and asked for U.S.
views. We told them that the USG,s general views on EU
additionality, conveyed to the Australians in New York and
elsewhere, had not changed. However, we noted USG thinking
on WCDR is fluid (ref). We stressed that the U.S. welcomes
the European Commission,s (EC) active participation at WCDR,
and added that the EU had not yet responded to our December
2004 questions on WCDR.


3. (C) Burrows replied that Australia had posed specific
questions to the EU on WCDR, and was awaiting a response.
She said that contacts with Japanese officials had given her
the impression that Japan &was sitting on its hands8
regarding EU additionality and WCDR, not wanting disputes
over additionality to cloud the Kobe conference. Burrows and
Dobbin, who were asked to speak to us by their Foreign
Ministry, said Australia would prefer to come to a &common
position8 on EC participation at WCDR with like-minded
countries such as the U.S., Japan and Canada. They said they
would keep us abreast of developments regarding Australian
policy, and asked that we do the same.

MCKINLEY