ITALIANS URGE SLOW EXPANSION OF EU VISA BAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 000979 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM CVIS BO IT SUBJECT: ITALIANS URGE SLOW EXPANSION OF EU VISA BAN AGAINST BELARUS REF: ROME 956 Classified By: Classified by David D. Pearce, Political Minister Counse lor, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On March 31, PolMinCouns and Poloff met with Paolo Serpi, Director of the Eastern European Department of the Italian MFA, to get a readout of the measures the EU plans to implement against the Lukashenko regime. Serpi stated that the EU agreed to implement an expanded visa ban list against the Belarus government that would include President Lukashenko. Italy supported a cautious expansion of the list in order to preserve the option to add more names if the regime's behavior continued to deteriorate. Paolo explained that the cautious approach to the expansion of the list would also give the EU time to gauge the effects of the ban on the regime's behavior toward the opposition. Italy was concerned that excessive pressure on Lukashenko could provoke greater repression. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Serpi told PolMinCouns and Poloff that an EU working group met on March 30 to discuss the expansion the EU visa ban list. The group decided in favor of expanding the list to include over 30 names of administration officials and judges. (The list excludes journalists, however.) Most importantly, the group had agreed to include Lukashenko. Serpi explained that the EU decided against a proposal by Poland, Slovakia and Lithuania to expand the list substantially. Instead the majority - supported by Italy - preferred to take a cautious approach in order to avoid a backlash against the opposition by the Lukashenko regime and to preserve the flexibility to add additional names if the regime's behavior worsened. ¶3. (C) According to Serpi, the proposal would be considered by the Directorate General for External Relations (RELEX) would consider the proposal next week and present it for official adoption by the EU on April 10. There are likely to be no changes in the list proposed by the working group. Serpi added that additional measures, including financial sanctions and an asset freeze, could be considered in the future as well. ¶4. (C) Serpi stated that Italy was pleased with the outcome of the working group recommendations. Italy was opposed to the more strident measures proposed by Poland, Lithuania, and Slovakia and hoped to moderate the positions of those countries toward Belarus in the future to ensure a more effective common policy toward Lukashenko. ¶5. (C) Comment. Italy's inclination to moderate other EU countries' measures against Lukashenko could become a concern. For now, however, the GOI continues to be a supporter (but not a leader) in the EU's efforts to find an exit strategy for Lukashenko. SPOGLI