AUSTRIA WILL NOT SUPPORT SWISS PROPOSAL ON UNSC

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 003564 SIPDIS STATE FOR IO/P, EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2015 TAGS: PREL AU UNGA SUBJECT: AUSTRIA WILL NOT SUPPORT SWISS PROPOSAL ON UNSC WORKING METHODS REF: STATE 199305 Classified By: Pol Unit Chief Michael DeTar, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ) ¶1. (SBU) Embassy Vienna conveyed reftel demarche to MFA A/S-equivalent for UN Affairs Helmut Boeck on November 2 and followed up with Boeck's deputy, Peter Huber, on November 4. Huber told us that Austria's priority was preserving the effectiveness of the Security Council. Austria was unenthusiastic about the several proposals for UNSC reform and/or expansion (including the recent "G-4" initiative). ¶2. (C) Huber said Austrian reps in New York would quietly suggest to their Swiss colleagues that they drop the proposal. In deference to its neighbor Switzerland (an ally of Austria's on many questions before the UN, including environmental and human rights issues),Austria would not step forward as a declared opponent of the Swiss idea, but there was "no question of Austria supporting it or voting for it." Phillips