May 4 U.S.-Russia - EU Multi Presidency Meeting

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 VIENNA 001551 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR CA, EUR/ERA, EUR/PGI AND EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV CVIS CPAS KCRM KFRD SMIG EUN AU SUBJECT: May 4 U.S.-Russia - EU Multi Presidency Meeting VIENNA 00001551 001.2 OF 004 THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. ¶1. (SBU) Summary. In the first meeting of its kind, U.S., Russian and EU officials met informally in Vienna May 4 to discuss possible areas for future cooperation in the fight against terrorism, organized crime and corruption, and illegal immigration. The U.S. delegation was led by Attorney General Gonzales, accompanied by DHS Deputy Secretary Jackson with Russian participants including SIPDIS Presidential Aide Viktor Ivanov and Minister of the Interior Nurgaliev. EU officials included Austrian Minister of the Interior Prokop and EU Commissioner Frattini, as well as representatives from the next four countries scheduled to hold the EU Council Presidency (Finland, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia). After the exploratory discussions aimed at defining possible areas of future tripartite cooperation, the Parties agreed to have an expert group flesh out proposals, and, if warranted, the Germans have indicated a willingness to hold a first formal tripartite meeting during their January - June 2006 Presidency. Communique from the meeting is contained in para 14. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Noting that the EU has been holding separate discussions in the area of justice and home affairs with both the U.S. and Russia for some time, Austrian Interior Minister Prokop explained that in connection with the implementation of the EU JHA external strategy paper adopted last December, it was thought that the time was right to meet informally in a tripartite forum with U.S. and Russian representatives. ¶3. (SBU) Russian Presidential Aide Ivanov noted that this was "an unusual, but important forum" for discussion of global problems such as terrorism and criminal networks that must be combated on an international level. He outlined Russian cooperation with the EU on cyber-crime and border security, noting that Russian internet sites have been attacked from both New York and Bogota in the last year. He described Russian progress with biometric passports and urged the adoption of a common definition of terrorism. ¶4. (SBU) The Attorney General agreed that terrorism, child pornography and cyber-crime recognized no borders and required international cooperation in order to combat them effectively. He specifically listed three subjects where international cooperation could be effective - a) organized crime and corruption in border areas; b) trafficking in persons (TIP); and c) money laundering, in particular via shell companies. ¶5. (SBU) EU Commissioner Frattini said that a balance had to be struck between providing security to citizens and the personal and privacy rights of those same citizens. He agreed a global approach was needed and described the EU strategy to combat terrorism as one of prevent, protect, pursue and respond. He also felt that a common definition of terrorism was needed in order to distinguish between freedom of expression and incitement. Frattini urged the protection of critical infrastructure and a common fight against cyber-crime, in particular the protection of children. He suggested that more effective use be made of EUROPOL and EUROJUST. ¶6. (SBU) Multi Presidency speakers congratulated the Austrian Presidency on its attempt to ensure continuity in the important fight against terrorism and organized crime, noting that globalization required a global coordinated response to these issues. The German representative said the Austrian initiative constituted "the right time, the right topics and the right format." He noted that it should not compete with G-8 or troika formats, but rather complement them. He said the inclusion of the U.S. and Russia provided "added-value" to the discussions and called for the ratification of relevant international conventions. Finally, he underlined the need to cooperate internationally in order to stop Afghan drug trafficking. ¶7. (SBU) The Finnish representative welcomed the inclusion of Russia and described the importance of close Finnish- Russian cooperation on their common border. In this regard, he urged more direct data exchange and suggested the EU establish multi-points of contact to facilitate the more effective exchange of data between border control posts. Slovenia urged greater future cooperation with Russian and U.S. officials and suggested that future action-oriented papers on issues such as child pornography and TIP be coordinated with the U.S. and Russia. The Portuguese representative supported the proposal for an official VIENNA 00001551 002.2 OF 004 tripartite meeting in 2007. ¶8. (SBU) Russian Minister of the Interior Nurgaliev identified terrorism and trafficking as the primary issues ripe for international cooperation and urged an action- oriented approach. ¶9. (SBU) The Attorney General then listed three areas he considered appropriate for international attention by this group - a) the criminal and other issues resulting from the unstable situation on the border of Georgia and Moldova; b) TIP; and c) money laundering. He suggested that an expert group come up with specific proposals. Austrian Interior Minister Prokop agreed that a lack of border security encouraged organized crime and corruption and noted that the EU has a pilot project with Moldova and the Ukraine. EU Commissioner Frattini agreed more security was needed in the Moldova-Georgia-Ukraine region. He also expressed the need for better and more common statistics on organized crime and corruption. ¶10. (SBU) Germany requested that Afghan drug trafficking be added to the list of common concerns and agreed that another tripartite meeting would be appropriate in a year, but only if it would produce concrete results. ¶11. (SBU) Deputy Secretary Jackson urged that border security and the security of travel documents also be discussed at any future meeting, noting the need for more progress on E-passports and visas, the reporting of lost and stolen passports and the confiscation of fraudulent documents. He urged that more detailed data be exchanged on lost and stolen passports. ¶12. (SBU) Russian representative Ivanov said he agreed with Germany that drug trafficking was a priority issue. He noted that the issue of the Georgia-Moldova border was a sensitive one and already being addressed in the OSCE forum, urging that duplication of ongoing work in other for a be avoided. (Comment: The Russians were clearly irritated by the Attorney General's reference to the frozen conflicts issues on the Georgia-Moldova border. In later conversations with other delegations, they claimed to be puzzled by the lack of consultation by the U.S. on this and suggested that in the future they might be forced to raise issues related to the U.S.-Mexican border.) ¶13. (SBU) The meeting concluded with the Austrian Presidency suggesting a list of joint topics to be explored with regard to future tripartite cooperation be included in the communique and proposing that an expert group should prepare an agenda for an official tripartite meeting in ¶2007. ¶14. (U) There follows the agreed communiqu from the May 4 meeting: EU Multi-Presidency - Russian Federation - United States of America Meeting at Ministerial level Communique Vienna (Austria),4 May 2006 In the margin of the Vienna Ministerial Conference on Security Partnership, representatives of the European Union (EU),the Russian Federation and the United States of America met on 4 May 2006 in order to discuss possible future tripartite cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs. This Meeting of Ministers was chaired by Liese PROKOP, Federal Minister of the Interior and current President of the Council of the European Union (EU). The EU side also comprised Kari RAJAMAKI, Minister of the Interior of Finland, Peter ALTMAIER, Secretary of State, Federal Ministry of the Interior of Germany, Dragutin MATE, Minister of the Interior of Slovenia, Antonio COSTA, Minister of the Interior of Portugal, (representing the incoming Presidencies of the EU),Franco FRATTINI, Vice- President of the EU Commission, and Ivan BIZJAK, General Director of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. The United Kingdom was represented at official level. The delegation of the Russian Federation was represented by Viktor IVANOV, Presidential Aide, Rashid NURGALIEV, Minister of the Interior, and Viktor KOMOGOROW, Deputy Director of VIENNA 00001551 003.2 OF 004 the Federal Security Service. The delegation of the United States of America was represented by Alberto GONZALES, Attorney General, and Michael JACKSON, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. ¶I. General Findings The participants of the meeting welcomed the first opportunity for a discussion of issues of common concern in relation to internal and homeland security between high officials responsible for home affairs from the EU, the Russian Federation and the United States. They indicated that this meeting could start a process towards a cooperative tripartite relationship in the field of justice and home affairs between these partners. II. Concept of Cooperative Relationship The EU side outlined that its Strategy for the External Dimension of Justice and Home Affairs calls for the elaboration of a partnership with third countries in the field of justice and home affairs, which includes strengthening the rule of law and promoting the respect for human rights and international obligations. The Russian Federation underlined its readiness to cooperate in a tripartite format on internal security issues and stressed the importance of operational cooperation. In this context, it noted the successful development of the EU- Russian cooperation on the basis of its Road Map on the common space of freedom, security and justice. The United States noted its extensive cooperative relationship with the EU on Justice and Home Affairs issues as well as its history of enforcement cooperation with the Russian Federation. The Parties stressed that the development of an area of enhanced freedom, security and justice can only be successfully achieved through relationships based on mutual cooperation. The participants therefore discussed the following key principles of a possible future "Tripartite Cooperative Relationship" in the field of justice and home affairs: Willingness to work together in order to tackle common threats and problems in the field of justice and home affairs. Efforts to make justice and home affairs a priority in external relations. Work towards action-oriented solutions, especially in the fight against terrorism, transnational organised crime, corruption and illegal migration. Applying a differentiated and flexible approach, including a multi-disciplinary assessment of needs. Promoting the implementation of principles and norms of international law. Recognizing the rule of law and democratic rights as means of bolstering security. Mobilisation of operational resources to work towards common objectives in addressing internal and homeland security issues. III. Special Areas for Cooperation The participants of the meeting identified the following special areas for possible enhanced cooperation: Combating Terrorism: Radicalisation and Recruitment; Financing; Cyberterrorism; Bringing terrorist and their supporters to justice Fight against Organized Crime and Corruption: Money : Money Laundering; Drug Trafficking and Trafficking in Human Beings; Cybercrime Countering Illegal Immigration, Security of Identity Documents and Border Control IV. Conclusion Participants noted the importance of today's meeting which enabled for the first time Ministers responsible for home VIENNA 00001551 004.2 OF 004 affairs from the EU, the Russian Federation and the United States to have an open exchange of views in relation to security issues. They stressed that the Vienna Initiative could start a process towards a "Tripartite Cooperative Relationship" in the field of justice and home affairs. Participants therefore indicated their willingness to work towards a meeting organized by the German EU-Presidency in the first half of 2007 to consider such a proposal. They invited experts to explore the added value accomplished through on such a tripartite cooperation and to come forward with relevant recommendations. The first expert meeting in this context will be held in the second half of 2006. MCCAW