SPAIN/HSPD-6: MOVING AHEAD ON IMPLEMENTATION OF

UNCLAS MADRID 003078 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE CA FOR A/S HARTY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER CVIS PGOV PREL SP SUBJECT: SPAIN/HSPD-6: MOVING AHEAD ON IMPLEMENTATION OF "MADRID MODEL" REF: A. STATE 194467 ¶B. MADRID 2895 ¶1. (SBU) The DCM and Embassy officers met with Eugenio Pereiro, Director of Spain's "National Center for Antiterrorist Coordination" (CNCA) on December 19 to discuss a broad range of security cooperation issues. Much of the discussion focused on the establishment of a mechanism to share terrorist lookout information on a bilateral basis. The DCM discussed the November visit of CA A/S Harty and her agreement with Secretary of State for Security Antonio Camacho to develop such an information exchange (REFS A and B). The DCM thanked Pereiro for his role in achieving this agreement and said that the Embassy was prepared to work closely with his team on the technical details of implementing the HSPD-6 mechanism. The DCM emphasized that the USG wanted to establish the information exchange on a collaborative basis and noted that the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) and other USG entities would be pleased to host a visit by CNCA officials to provide additional briefings. ¶2. (SBU) Pereiro thanked the DCM and said that he looked forward to working with the USG on the implementation of the agreement. He requested a detailed description of how an exchange would actually be carried out so that he could assign the appropriate members of his team to oversee this project. Emboffs said that a written proposal would be forthcoming very soon that would include the USG's proposed protocol. The DCM noted that we viewed this as a very flexible document that was intended to launch the process; the final agreement would be a product of the CNCA and Embassy working groups assigned to work out the details of the exchange. Embassy officers discussed several of the practical aspects of the proposed information exchange and some of the issues that would have to be worked out, such as specific instructions regarding how Spanish data could be employed by the TSC and how the two sides could obtain detailed information on a subject in the event of an encounter by our authorities. The DCM and Pereiro agreed to attempt to secure an agreement by the end of January and to launch the information exchange as soon as possible thereafter. //COMMENT// ¶3. (SBU) Post appreciates the continual information from the Department and TSC regarding HSPD-6 implementation. Pereiro clearly understands the potential value of fully implementing the Madrid Model, which would give the CNCA a useful tool to aid its mission of building up interagency cooperation among Spanish security agencies to confront the terrorist threat. We would like to make implementation as easy as possible for the CNCA, which is a small and relatively new institution, but one we would like to see succeed. Political Officer Ricardo Zuniga will serve as the Embassy's operational coordinator in terms of negotiating with Spanish counterparts the specific protocols that will govern this information exchange. The full Embassy Working Group includes Consular, Legat, and ORA representatives. The Ambassador and the DCM will cintinue to engage on a policy level to assure that this initiative moves forward in the most expeditious manner possible. AGUIRRE