FRANCE WANTS REVIEW OF IAEA PRIORITIES BEFORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000996 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2019 TAGS: PREL PARM UN FR SUBJECT: FRANCE WANTS REVIEW OF IAEA PRIORITIES BEFORE COMMITTING TO BUDGET INCREASE Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Kathleen Allegrone for reas ons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. On July 21, during a meeting with Martin Briens, DAS-equivalent for Disarmament and Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Special Advisor for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, Robert Einhorn advocated strongly for a "significant" increase in the IAEA budget for 2010 to strengthen safeguards and nuclear security and provide the IAEA with a robust verification capability. Such an increase would also demonstrate a vote of confidence in the new Director-General. Einhorn recalled taht President Obama, as a candidate, proposed doubling the IAEA budget in the next four years and the objective of securing additional resources for teh agency remained high on the Administration's policy agenda. Briens' response was cautious, agreeing with the U.S. on the need to adequately resource the IAEA, but advocating that an assessment of IAEA operations be conducted first to better justify which areas merit a budgetary increase. End summary. ¶2. (C) Opening the meeting, Einhorn noted that the IAEA agency had only received an average of one percent real growth in its budget in recent years and that it needed increased resources to adopt the more modern technologies to allow for real-time monitoring and fulfill its mandate to strenthen safeguards and verification measures. Einhorn argued for at least a seven percent increase, observing that the French contribution in this case would only add up to an increase of 1.3 million euros -- a modest sum. Further, he added that the IAEA has a special mandate touching on vital security interests, so it should not be subject to normal budgetary disciplines and observed that an increase in the IAEA budget does not necessarily require that equal increases be granted to other international organizations. Finally, he noted that contributions to the regular budget were more predictable, whereas voluntary contributions can vary from year to year, creating budgetary and planning uncertainty. ¶3. (C) Briens agreed that ensuring the IAEA has adequate resources is a priority, but he countered that the international community should first look to how the agency spends its existing resources before simply increasing the budget. Unfortunately, out-going IAEA Director General El-Baradei had never cared to manage the agency, he just asked for additional resources without justification, including a demand for a general 20 percent hike across the board. Briens argued that an assessment of IAEA operations should be conducted first, and only then could the international community better prioritize an increase in its budget. On a practical note, he added that any projected increase in the French contribution would come from the budget of the French MFA and said that increasing the IAEA regular budget means that painful tradeoffs must be made within the Ministry. He said that the MFA Political Director (Gerard Araud, who will be leaving soon to become France's PermRep in New York) is responsible for deciding such tradeoffs. Briens concluded with his belief that contributors would eventually agree that the final budget for the IAEA should go beyond zero real growth, but that we are only at the beginning of the process. Paris wants to be assured that a large increase in the IAEA budget would be fully justified -- particularly in light of the current economic crisis. ¶4. (U) Special Advisor for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Robert Einhorn cleared this cable. PEKALA