TEXT OF ROMANIA'S "INTEGRATED APPROACH" PROPOSAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 000229

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2015
TAGS: MARR MASS PGOV PREL RS RO NATO
SUBJECT: TEXT OF ROMANIA'S "INTEGRATED APPROACH" PROPOSAL
FOR BLACK SEA REGION SECURITY COOPERATION

REF: BUCHAREST 212

Classified By: POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF ROBERT GILCHRIST FOR REASONS 1.4
A, B AND D


1. (C) The Foreign Ministry delivered to Embassy officers
January 19 an outline classified by the Romanians as
"confidential" and titled "A Basis for an Integrated Approach
for Security Cooperation in the Black Sea Region. Building
Synergy Among Various Initiatives." Post reproduces below
the text of this outline. As discussed in reftel, the
Romanians view the proposal as a basis for further
consultation with U.S. on coordination on Black Sea security.


2. (C) BEGIN TEXT OF OUTLINE:

Basis for an Integrated Approach for Security Cooperation in
the Black Sea Region.

Building synergy among various initiatives

-1. Principles:

-Enhancing regional security is part of a wider effort to
consolidate stability and democracy, as well as to ensure
economic development in the Black Sea region and to anchor it
to the Euro-Atlantic community.

-The variety of security risks and their cross-border nature
require combined actions on the following dimensions:
maritime, air, land security, border security and civil
emergency planning.

-While the security in the Black Sea region is a
responsibility of the littoral states, cooperation with and
involvement of other international organizations, in
particular NATO, can optimize the existing regional
cooperation efforts.

Several arguments support this approach:

The trans-national character of the risks in the Black Sea;
The main targets of the illegal activities in the Black Sea
are our allies in the Western Europe, not only the riparian
states, and therefore, we cannot exclude cooperation with
them in support of Black Sea security;

The inclusive approach we all three have claimed, as non-EU
members, from the ESOP development should be applied to the
Black Sea security, indivisibly linked to the Euro-Atlantic
security.

-Security cooperation in the Black Sea region should be
construed in such a manner that would benefit all regional
states ("win-win solution");

-Any initiative aimed at strengthening security in the Black
Sea region has to be pursued in full observance with
international law and national legislation.

-2. Components of an integrated approach we could explore:

--Political dimension:

-Enhancing political debates in NATO on the security
situation in the Black Se region. The developments in
Georgia, Ukraine, and R. Moldova are discussed in NATO but an
integrated debate could be useful in streamlining NATO ties
with its Partners in the Black Sea region;

-Building awareness and interest for the Black Sea security
issues in NATO ("a Black Sea caucus");

-Developing NATO individual political dialogue with the
Partners in the Black Sea region. The Individual Partnership
Action Plans offer a very good framework in this regard;

-Generating debate on the Black Sea region in the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly which can be a link for the
parliaments in the Partner countries.

-Building awareness on the Black Sea region through public
diplomacy instruments (joint events, seminars, etc.)

--Operational dimension:

a) Maritime Security:

-- An integrated project for the Black Sea could be explored
in the following manner:

- A Black Sea Task Force of the three NATO allies, built upon
Turkey's operation Black Sea Harmony, and connected with NATO
command and information exchange structures.

The mission of this Task Force would be to help complete data
regarding the naval situation in the Black Sea (Recognized
Maritime Picture) and potentially
to ensure escort for commercial vessels.

Non-Black Sea allies could be invited to patrol with the
Black Sea Task Force within the limitations of the Montreux
Convention; this would help alleviate the costs of the Black
Sea Task Force for the three Black Sea allies.

The Task Force could be under Turkey's lead, but connected to
NATO command structure and exchanging information with OAE;

We should study the Gibraltar Task Force of OAE, comprising
almost exclusively Portuguese and Spanish military vessels,
which operate under NATO umbrella escorting ships through
Gibraltar Straits. It could be an example for a possible
future NATO mission of the Black Sea Task Force.

The Task Force can be supported by the Blackseafor through a
mechanism of information exchange to be established, based
upon a memorandum of understanding among the littoral states;

The Task Force can interact with Blackseafor during its
activations.

-NATO:

Information exchange and command support for the Black Sea
Task Force;

Joint patrolling by non-Black Sea allies with the Black Sea
Task Force, in accordance with the Montreux Convention.

Possibility to develop a NATO operation in the Black Sea in
the future, by taking over the Black Sea Task Force.

BLACKSEAFOR would develop its role in preventing terrorism
and WMD trafficking within the scope of the current
Agreement, through:

-enhancing information exchange among the participating
states and with the Black Sea Task Force;

-organizing thematic exercises and training, including with
participation NATO or allied states;

-"consequence management" missions, which can also support
the Black Sea Initiative on civil defense. A possible
collaboration of Blackseafor with EADRCC could be explored.

-elaboration of common, inter-operable concepts, techniques
and specific anti-terrorism procedures. NATO experience and
the PAP - T could be used as reference.

Accepting NATO allies as observers to the Blackseafor.

Participation aside the Black Sea Task Force during
Blackseafor activations.

Openness and connection with a NATO role in the Black Sea is
an essential aspect of developing Blackseafor role in
preventing terrorism.

b) Land and air security: BLACK SEA REGIONAL COOPERATION -
the possibility of creating and operating a Joint Interagency
Task Force (JIATF)

-A JIATF for the Black Sea (JIATF-Black Sea) region,
integrating law enforcement, customs and defense assets of
the participating countries could be useful for a
comprehensive response to illegal activities in the Black Sea
region.

-The JIATF used by the United States in Key West, Florida,
could be a good model to depart from and should be carefully
considered by the BSEC countries.

-A possible BSEC Joint Task Force should be linked with the
maritime security project envisaged above.

c) Border Defense:
-Using the Border Defense Initiative (BDI) as an instrument
to:
Establish strong export and border control systems able to
detect and combat WMD proliferation;

Consolidate national legal framework for countering WMD
proliferation;

Fostering information exchange in the field of
counter-proliferation and counterterrorism.
d) Civil emergency planning:
-Further development of the Black Sea Initiative for civil
defense, which can help establish common procedures and
mechanisms of civil emergency planning in order to
facilitate our cooperation and rapid response to such
situations in the Black See area, in a complementary manner
with Blackseafor and BSEC. The value and effectiveness
of EADRCC experience in this field should be further
exploited in the benefit of this initiative.

--Security sector reform (making full use of the PtP
instruments):

-Providing assistance to the Black Sea Partner states which
have launched or affirmed intention to launch an Individual
Partnership Action Plan with NATO (Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Armenia);

-Encouraging R. Moldova to develop an Individual Partnership
Action Plan with NATO;

-Exploring the possibility to establish a Black Sea
Partnership Action Plan (PAP) focused on defense and security
sector reform, as a contribution to PAP-DIB and in support of
defense reforms in the regional Partner countries. Such a PAP
can make use of existing expertise of
the Black Sea allies and help coordinate and multiply
bilateral assistance provided by NATO allies to the Partners
in the region.

END TEXT OF OUTLINE


3. (U) Amembassy Bucharest's reporting telegrams are
available on the Bucharest SIPRNet website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest
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