SPAIN RESPONSE TO SINGLE MEMBER VETO AND ITU

UNCLAS MADRID 000071 SIPDIS STATE PASS TO JAMES ENNIS EB/CIP/MA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ECPS ITU SUBJECT: SPAIN RESPONSE TO SINGLE MEMBER VETO AND ITU CONSTITUTION REF: STATE 264222 ECONOFF delivered reftel talking points December 21 to both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, urging Spain to join us in resisting a change to the ITU veto procedures. On January 11, ECONOFF met with Marta Cimas-Hernando, Subdirector General of International Telecommunications Organizations, and Antonio Fernandez-Paniagua Diaza-Flores, Subdirector General of Technical Infrastructure and Norms, to discuss the issue. Cimas-Hernando and Fernandez-Paniagua stated that Spain did not feel strongly about this issue, which they characterized as technical, not political. Noting that the GOS did not necessarily oppose the US position, they stated that Spain did not have much latitude in this area as they would likely believe it necessary to join the EU consensus. They indicated that the common EU position would likely be determined at a future meeting of CEPT (European Conference on Postal and Telecommunication Administration),at which the US usually had a representative. MANZANARES