EUROPEAN COMMISSION SUSPENDS AID TO NICARAGUAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000030 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CEN ALBERT KRAAIMOORE E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2019 TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL NU EUN SUBJECT: EUROPEAN COMMISSION SUSPENDS AID TO NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT REF: SECSTATE 132044 Classified By: Deputy PolCouns Mary Curtin for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) On January 9, PolOff delivered reftel points to Petros Mavromichalis, head of the Mexico and Central America unit in the European Commission's Directorate General for External Relations. Mavromichalis echoed U.S. concerns about the Government of Nicaragua's backsliding on democracy. When the EU dispatched observers to the last Nicaraguan presidential elections, the observers noted that those elections were generally free and fair. However, the GON did not take the EU's advice on implementing further election reforms at that time, and has since shown an increasing willingness to crack down on the political opposition and civil society. The fraudulent municipal elections in November 2008 were the latest example of Nicaragua's backsliding. The Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner has twice written to the Nicaraguan Government to express her concerns. In the wake of the November 2008 municipal elections, Ferrero-Waldner informed the Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs that the Commission would suspend its budgetary support to the GON as of January 1, 2009. Mavromichalis estimated that the suspended funds totaled about 60 million euros, though he admitted that this figure is not exact. The Commission has made clear that the suspension of aid is connected directly to the fraudulent elections, though the Nicaraguan reaction reportedly was dismissive of the Commission's action. The Commission is considering reallocating the funds to support local programming for the Nicaraguan people, programs for the Central America region, or aid to civil society through NGOs, although no decisions have been made. .