HIZBALLAH DESIGNATION NON-PAPER: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000850 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA, EB/ESC/TFS, NEA/ARN AND EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2015 TAGS: ETTC PTER EFIN AU EUN SUBJECT: HIZBALLAH DESIGNATION NON-PAPER: AUSTRIAN RESPONSE REF: A) STATE 44347 B) VIENNA 607 Classified By: ECONOMIC-POLITICAL COUNSELOR GREGORY E. PHILLIPS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) (C) Embassy Vienna delivered ref (a) non-paper to MFA A/S-equivalent for Internal Security and Counterterrorism Johann Froehlich on March 14. We followed up later the same day with Thomas Hajnoczi, head of the Bureau for Political-Military Affairs and Common Foreign and Security Policy. The GoA had previously given assurances, per ref (b),that Austria supported EU designation of Hizballah (in its entirety) as a terrorist organization. Hajnoczi and Froehlich undertook to convey our concerns to Austria's Clearinghouserepresentative in time for the March 16 meeting. Brown