ITALY UNDECIDED ON ATTENDING AUSTRALIAN GROUP

UNCLAS ROME 000868 SENSITIVE SIPDIS ISN/CB: SOUZA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL ETTC CBW SUBJECT: ITALY UNDECIDED ON ATTENDING AUSTRALIAN GROUP MEETINGS IN SEPTEMBER REF: STATE 67207 ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 3. ¶2. (SBU) On 14 July Econoff delivered reftel demarche concerning Italy's attendance at the 21-25 September Australia Group (AG) plenary session. The meetings will focus on chemical and biological weapons, terrorist attempts to procure sensitive technology, and examples of export control success. Pierfrancesco De Cerchio, an MFA export control official, said that Italy had not yet decided whether to attend the session, and that the decision would likely depend on whether there were funds in the MFA's budget to send a delegation to Paris. Post noted the conference's focus on export controls and suggested that Italy would be a valuable participant, but De Cerchio said it would be difficult to gauge the value of Italian participation without a more detailed agenda than that provided in reftel demarche. With or without the agenda, De Cerchio said he likely would not know if sufficient funds were in the budget until early September, at which point Italy will decide whether to send a delegation. ¶3. (U) Post requests a copy of the AG plenary meeting agenda, if one exists, in order to improve the chances of Italian participation. DIBBLE