SPAIN REVIEWING DRAFT AGREEMENT ON PREVENTING AND

UNCLAS MADRID 000484 SENSITIVE SIPDIS EUR/WE FOR ELAINE SAMSON AND STACIE ZERDECKI PASS TO GIANFRANCO "KIKO" CORTI OF DHS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CVIS CMGT KPAO PBTS PREL SP SUBJECT: SPAIN REVIEWING DRAFT AGREEMENT ON PREVENTING AND COMBATING SERIOUS CRIME (PCSC) REF: SECSTATE 43131 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Embassy Madrid delivered REFTEL talking points and passed a hard copy of English and Spanish versions of the draft agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC). The GOS appears supportive of the draft and seemingly wants to move quickly on the issue. In the meantime, Post currently is helping to organize a series of high-level meetings during a proposed June 24-26 visit to Washington, DC by Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba. A scenesetter cable will be sent SEPTEL. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) On May 12, Arturo Avello, Director General for International Relations and Aliens within the Ministry of Interior's (MOI's) State Secretariat of Security, told POLOFF that the MOI - which has the lead on this issue within the GOS - plans to provide a written response to the draft by the end of May when it convenes a meeting with Embassy officials to discuss the GOS position. That same day, Andres Villalgordo, Deputy Director for International Police Cooperation and one of Avello's key subordinates who has the day-to-day responsibility for the PCSC issue, confirmed to DHS officials via email the GOS's availability to negotiate the agreement. Avello told POLOFF that, by July, the GOS will be ready to receive a DHS team from Washington to begin negotiations on the agreement. ¶3. (SBU) Embassy Madrid's DHS/ICE Attache previously had delivered REFTEL demarche on April 23 to Villalgordo, who reacted favorably to the draft agreement, indicated that he thought an accord could be reached, and did not articulate any objection to the content of the draft or the exchange of information it proposed. However, he did express interest in the manner in which the agreement would go into effect. He informed the attache that the GOS preferred that Rubalcaba and DHS Secretary Napolitano sign a binding agreement that did not need parliamentary ratification, which Villalgordo suggested could mire the initiative in lengthy bureaucratic delays. The attache remarked that the US-Spain Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement (CMAA) went into effect decades ago following a signing ceremony that did not involve the two countries' national legislatures. ¶4. (SBU) Acting POLCONS on April 22 delivered REFTEL demarche to Fernando Prieto, MFA Deputy Director for North America, who expressed appreciation but had no specific comment other than that the MOI would take the lead on the GOS side in bilateral discussions on this issue. DUNCAN