OECD: AMBASSADOR MORELLA BRIEFS COUNCIL ON THE PARTNERSHIP

UNCLAS PARIS 001190 SIPDIS FROM USOECD PARIS SENSITIVE - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION SIPDIS STATE FOR E, EEB, EUR, G, IO/S AND S/P, NSC FOR MCCORMICK E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: EAID ECON ETRD OECD SUBJECT: OECD: AMBASSADOR MORELLA BRIEFS COUNCIL ON THE PARTNERSHIP FOR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE; SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSAL APPEARS TO BE GROWING REF: STATE 28310 ¶1. (SBU) Ambassador Morella briefed the OECD Council March 20 on the status of the U.S. initiative for a "Partnership for Democratic Governance" (see speaking notes in Para 5 below). Due to the late hour, discussion was limited; however, several key OECD Members expressed strong support for the proposal and experts meeting scheduled for April 17-18. These included the European Commission (EC),Czech Republic, Germany and Japan, with the EC Ambassador noting similarities with the EC's own support to democracy initiative and Germany welcoming the idea of placing the proposal in the broader context of democratic governance and security offered by OECD and UNDP. France raised a procedural issue related to the need for Council to rule on the matter, which the Secretary General (SG) turned around to the full satisfaction of the French, demonstrating the complete transparency with which the matter was being handled by keeping Council informed. The SG intends to bring the matter back to Council on May 10, the first scheduled Council session following the experts meeting. The UK Deputy noted a number of positive aspects about the proposal but wanted to see how it fit into the OECD's remit. The Dutch Ambassador said his authorities had many questions about the initiative, which they will raise during the experts meeting. The Council formally "noted" this agenda item. ¶2. (SBU) As a result of the briefing, Mission has been contacted by several delegations requesting further information and clarification. Although the Canadians did not speak at the Council meeting, the Canadian Mission told the Secretariat and the Mission afterwards that Canada fully supports the proposal and will attend the experts meeting. The Italians have identified their expert, Professor Andrea De Guttry of the Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento Sant'Anna in Pisa, one of Italy's and Europe's most qualified experts on Public International Law and International Humanitarian Law. The Mission will be meeting next week with the Spaniards and Turks to discuss the initiative. ¶3. (SBU) We met March 23 with the EC's Deputy PermRep, Philip Pierros, who was armed with papers on the PDG he had received from Brussels and Washington. One of these was a letter from EC Director General Karel Kavanda to S/P Director Krasner expressing the EC's desire to work closely together on the PDG. Pierros stressed that the EC is quite interested in the initiative but wants to ensure that there is no duplication of work being done elsewhere. He raised the following concerns/questions: -- the PDG should be seen as a "neutral source of information," not favoring any one donor country or organization as the PDG brings together target countries and contractors; -- important to ensure that target countries not become dependent on contractors/assistance; governments should be able to develop own structure for providing services, thus very interested in learning more about the proposed centers of excellence suggested in earlier U.S. non-paper; -- initially limit number of target countries to those that are most vulnerable; give the initiative a chance to get up and running; and -- concern about earlier suggestion that non-democratic governments might become target countries; important to strengthen those countries that share common values with the OECD. ¶4. (SBU) Pierros expressed appreciation for Mission's responses - we reassured him with respect to complementarity of the PDG with other ongoing efforts; neutrality of recommendations by the PDG Secretariat (and contributing nations); support for training and SIPDIS development of long-term internal capacity to provide needed services; careful consideration in limiting the number of projects to ensure the PDG is working efficiently and effectively and giving it time to get off the ground as well as maintaining the focus on democratic states. Pierros suggested that we keep in close touch here in Paris but also advised that consultations take place in Brussels and Washington. It would be very useful if Dr. Krasner and/or his staff could meet with EC reps prior to the April 17-18 experts meeting. Finally, Pierros assured us that a high-level EC expert would attend the meeting. ¶5. (U) Begin text of Ambassador Morella's speaking notes: -- Given the interest by the international community in ensuring stability and sustainable development in fragile states and emerging democracies, the United States has been exploring some ideas with the OECD and UNDP and will be providing funding for possible future work in this area. -- The U.S. sees the multilateral Partnership for Democratic Governance (PDG) as a way of advancing the OECD's goal of building capacity and improving service delivery in emerging democracies. It will also build on and support ongoing work being done at the OECD and internationally with respect to fragile states, aid effectiveness, and state-building. -- Stephen Krasner, Director of the Secretary of State's policy planning office, has consulted with a wide number of countries, international institutions, and regional organizations on the PDG. -- Consultations have been held, both in Washington and in capitals and here in Paris (in some cases several times),with officials from: * almost every OECD country * India, Chile, Brazil, and South Africa * the European Commission and the Council of the EU * the OAS and the AU * the World Bank and IMF * the Inter-American Development Bank * the UN Development Program -- In general, reactions have been positive. Most countries and organizations have expressed a great deal of interest in collaborating in the further development of the PDG. -- Based on concerns and suggestions that have been, the U.S. has made conceptual and structural changes to our initial ideas on the PDG to link it more closely with existing international strategies and programs in the areas I previously mentioned. -- In this context, the U.S. Government has provided a voluntary contribution of 50,000 Euros to explore the feasibility of what is needed and what might be possible in this area. -- Under the direction of the Secretary General, the Secretariat has been preparing a meeting of experts, scheduled for April 17-18, on "New Approaches to Capacity Development and Service Delivery in Emerging Democracies." -- The Secretary General has sent letters informing the Council of the meeting and has requested that delegations and capitals identify appropriate participants at the expert level. For our part, Dr. Krasner and representatives from the USAID will participate in the meeting and are looking forward to sharing views on what might be achievable with respect to enhancing the capacity of those nations with weak governance structures. -- Depending on the results of the April meeting and subsequent discussion in Council, we could envisage the OECD providing the PDG a "home" as a Part II body of the Organization, fully financed by voluntary contributions and defraying any expenses to the Organization via the recently agreed Part II overhead charges mechanism. -- We look forward to working with potential partners to further refine the concept to ensure that the PDG becomes one more effective tool to strengthening institutions and delivering essential services in emerging democracies. Morella