DEMARCHE REQUEST: UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION (UPU) - AUSTRIAN

UNCLAS VIENNA 000991 SIPDIS, SENSITIVE STATE FOR IO/T - CHRIS WOOD NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC ECON ETRD WTRO AU SUBJECT: DEMARCHE REQUEST: UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION (UPU) - AUSTRIAN POSITION REF: STATE 66814 THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) Austria supports most U.S. positions in reftel. ¶2. (SBU) Embassy rep delivered reftel demarche to the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs on June 26 and subsequently mailed a copy of the demarche to the Austrian Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology. ¶3. (SBU) The two Austrian ministries held a UPU coordination meeting on July 9. As a result of this meeting, Alfred Stratil (head of the Austrian UPU delegation and head of the supreme Austrian postal and telecom authority, which is part of the Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology) told us that Austria will support the U.S. candidacy for the Council of Administration (CA), but has not decided on support of the U.S. candidacy for the Postal Operations Council (POC). Austria plans to join the U.S. in voting against UPU mission expansion and in supporting maintenance of zero nominal growth in the ordinary budget. GIRARD-DICARLO