Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BUCHAREST1693
2006-11-07 15:33:00
SECRET
Embassy Bucharest
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER'S VISIT TO

Tags:  PGOV PREL RO 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0011
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBM #1693/01 3111533
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 071533Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5505
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
S E C R E T BUCHAREST 001693 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FBI FOR THE DIRECTOR FROM AMBASSADOR TAUBMAN
EUR/FO AND EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL RO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER'S VISIT TO
BUCHAREST


Classified By: AMBASSADOR NICHOLAS TAUBMAN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).

S E C R E T BUCHAREST 001693

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FBI FOR THE DIRECTOR FROM AMBASSADOR TAUBMAN
EUR/FO AND EUR/NCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL RO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER'S VISIT TO
BUCHAREST


Classified By: AMBASSADOR NICHOLAS TAUBMAN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (S) I welcome your upcoming visit to Bucharest November
13-14. I want to share some thoughts about the
extraordinarily strong bilateral partnership we have with the
Romanians, the political backdrop to your visit, and how your
trip can help advance USG interests here. Romania is a
reliable ally on many fronts in the Global War on Terrorism
(including in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Western Balkans),
and in our close and fruitful foreign policy, intelligence
and law enforcement relationship. Your visit is an excellent
opportunity to convey to President Basescu and other senior
leaders that their efforts and Romania's sacrifices have not
gone unnoticed at the highest levels in Washington.


2. (S) We are working increasingly closely with the
Romanians on a wide range of issues. Romania's can-do
pro-American, pro-NATO tone is set from the top, under
President Basescu's strong leadership. Even as Romania
enters the EU in January, he has emphasized a continued
strong strategic partnership with us and maintaining an
outward-looking Euro-Atlantic foreign policy. Nearly two
years after his upset election victory, he remains the
dominant political figure in Romania, with approval ratings
regularly topping 60 percent. Yet Basescu is only part of
the equation, as he is primus inter pares in a badly frayed
coalition with Prime Minister Calin-Popescu Tariceanu.
Whether by conviction or expediency, Tariceanu has tended to
define his political stance in opposition to his rival
Basescu, as evidenced by his surprise June announcement
supporting withdrawal of Romanian forces from Iraq. Your
schedule includes meetings with both of these dueling
palaces--Cotroceni and Victoria Palace--in an effort to
bridge the gap and to ensure that our strategic partnership
is broad-based, rather than centered around a single
personality or faction.


3. (S) Romania is in a period of rapid transition, as
evidenced by its pending entry into the EU next January.
There are many issues associated with these EU accession,
including the phase-out of USG funding for regional SEED

programs in Romania, the closure of our USAID mission, and
the end of many bilateral assistance projects designed to
foster the rule of law in Romania. An important "legacy"
institution that we want to keep as a platform for future
cooperation
in law enforcement is SECI, which is headquartered in
Bucharest. SECI is under some pressure from the EU, which
tends to view it as a made-in-USA organization. Some in the
EU also want to see greater future focus on exclusively-EU
organizations such as EURPOL. You can make a big impact by
stressing with your Romanian interlocutors the importance we
attach to SECI. SECI is complementary to EU-only
organizations, since it is a trans-national body whose
membership is drawn largely from outside the European Union.
It helps create new patterns of multilateral cooperation in a
region better known for porous borders, weak rule of law, and
spillover from internal conflicts.


4. (S) Unfortuntely, Romania has also become synonymous
with "phishing," ATM and credit card theft, auction fraud,
and other forms of cyber-crime. Again, this is an issue with
transnational implications given that many of the victims are
U.S. citizens and companies. Your visit provides an
opportunity to stress the importance we place on cooperative
efforts to deal with this problem. As with many Balkan
countries, corruption is still endemic in Romania. You
should encourage those in the government--such as Justice
Minister Macovei--who are trying to do something about the
corruption issue. DOJ/FBI assistance, especially to the
technical service of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutors' Office
(DNA) has been invaluable. The Romanians have embraced the
U.S. "task force" model with some success. There is
continuing concern about the influence of organized crime in
Romania, including money laundering and use of front
companies to gain a foothold in areas such as gambling and
petrochemicals.


5. (S) Finally, this visit is an opportunity to hear out
the Romanian point of view. Basescu is a big-picture thinker
and a shrewd strategist. Romanians pride themselves on being
among our closest partners and collaborators, but feel that
they have important insights to bring to the relationship.
The Romanian world view reflects its location on the
strategic crossroads of Southeastern Europe, facing east
across the Black Sea towards Russia, Turkey and the greater
Middle East. Romanians were among the first to underscore
the growing importance of the Black Sea region, both as a
region of potential instability and as a vital energy

corridor. They have historically viewed Moscow with
suspicion, and are deeply concerned about growing Russian
energy leverage in Europe. Similarly, Romania feels that it
has a special affinity and understanding for the countries of
the Middle East, where it has relationships that date
back--for better or for worse--to the Ceaucescu period. You
will hear a readiness to work hand-in-glove with us in the
Western Balkans including on Kosovo and Serbia, but the
Romanian analysis of the situation on the ground is not
always in lockstep with ours.
Taubman