Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BRUSSELS583
2008-04-18 05:02:00
CONFIDENTIAL
USEU Brussels
Cable title:
EUROPEAN COMMISSION ASSISTANCE FOR IRAQ SET TO
how-toVZCZCXRO1644 RR RUEHAG RUEHROV DE RUEHBS #0583 1090502 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 180502Z APR 08 FM USEU BRUSSELS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000583
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018
TAGS: EAID PREL PGV IZ EUN
SUBJECT: EUROPEAN COMMISSION ASSISTANCE FOR IRAQ SET TO
DECREASE NEXT YEAR
REF: BRUSSELS 108
Classified By: Alyce Tidball, Deputy Political Minister Counselor, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
(C) According to a member state contact EC assistance to Iraq
will be moving to a bilateral technical assistance phase as
opposed to funding through other multilatral donor
organizations. Contact noted that there would be no increase
in assistance to Iraq and there would inevitably be a
decrease next year, but it was not yet clear how much the
decrease would be. The best we could hope for, he said, was
a slower decline in the level of assistance. This confirms
reftel reporting that while the EU wants to be more engaged
with Iraq it does not envisage increasing or even maintaining
current levels of funding for assistance. At that time, EU
contacts noted concerns about limited Iraqi capacity to
absorb all the assistance funds that have already been made
available. They have also noted that increases in oil
revenue make foreign assistance less critical and difficult
to justify. Contact also noted that the EU is about to come
into its budget cycle again with the preliminary draft budget
due out on April 30. Now is the time to approach the EU, he
said, to influence any budget decisions in order to get
suggested changes into the Council's first reading of the
budget in May.
Murray
.
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018
TAGS: EAID PREL PGV IZ EUN
SUBJECT: EUROPEAN COMMISSION ASSISTANCE FOR IRAQ SET TO
DECREASE NEXT YEAR
REF: BRUSSELS 108
Classified By: Alyce Tidball, Deputy Political Minister Counselor, for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
(C) According to a member state contact EC assistance to Iraq
will be moving to a bilateral technical assistance phase as
opposed to funding through other multilatral donor
organizations. Contact noted that there would be no increase
in assistance to Iraq and there would inevitably be a
decrease next year, but it was not yet clear how much the
decrease would be. The best we could hope for, he said, was
a slower decline in the level of assistance. This confirms
reftel reporting that while the EU wants to be more engaged
with Iraq it does not envisage increasing or even maintaining
current levels of funding for assistance. At that time, EU
contacts noted concerns about limited Iraqi capacity to
absorb all the assistance funds that have already been made
available. They have also noted that increases in oil
revenue make foreign assistance less critical and difficult
to justify. Contact also noted that the EU is about to come
into its budget cycle again with the preliminary draft budget
due out on April 30. Now is the time to approach the EU, he
said, to influence any budget decisions in order to get
suggested changes into the Council's first reading of the
budget in May.
Murray
.