OSCE: ITALIANS FLEXIBLE ON BUDGET ISSUES, SEEKING

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 003880 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/RPM (WARLICK/HOLTZ/PROSEN) AND USOSCE (SCOTT/CONNUCK/SLOTTA) E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2015 TAGS: ABUD AFIN PREL EU PGOV IT OSCE SUBJECT: OSCE: ITALIANS FLEXIBLE ON BUDGET ISSUES, SEEKING MINISTERIAL DECLARATION REF: STATE 211137 Classified By: Classified by David D. Pearce, Political Minister Counse lor, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). (C) Poloff delivered reftel points to Brunelle Borzi, Director of the OSCE office of the Italian MFA, on November ¶23. Borzi stated that the Italians were open to USG proposals on the OSCE budget mechanism and were willing to be flexible on this issue in order prevent disruptions or distractions from the OSCE mission. A larger priority for the GOI, according to Borzi, was the need for a ministerial declaration this year. In her view, a ministerial declaration, particularly one that included language on the Istanbul Committee, was crucial to maintaining the organization's credibility. The GOI had already approached other EU countries about the need for a declaration and was willing to accept reference to the Istanbul Committee in regional declarations. She expressed hope that the USG would be flexible in negotiations in order to obtain consensus on such a declaration. SPOGLI