ITALY, UN ASSESSMENTS: EU DOESN'T WANT TO GET

UNCLAS ROME 003354 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR IO/MPR G. ABRAHAMS, D. LEIS, H. WARD; FOR USUN/MR AMB. WALLACE, A. HILLMAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT AORC PREL UNGA SUBJECT: ITALY, UN ASSESSMENTS: EU DOESN'T WANT TO GET STUCK WITH BILL REF: STATE 200954 Poloff delivered reftel demarche to Acting UN Office Director Leonardo Bencini December 20, stressing that increasing the 22 percent ceiling on the UN scale of assessments was a U.S. redline. Bencini noted that the current ceiling forces EU countries to pay the difference as the next largest UN contributors. Poloff responded that the United States wanted to be constructive in reaching an agreement, and that we could find compromise on other points. The EU wanted other countries, like China, to share the extra burden resulting from the ceiling, Bencini said. He suggested the United States could move closer to the EU on its remaining seven points if we could not agree to raise the ceiling. Bencini promised to convey U.S. views to the Italian Mission in New York, but advised that negotiations were being run out of the EU office. BORG