ITALY G8 ENERGY PREP: THREE DIFFERENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000092 NOFORN SIPDIS EEB FOR DAS HENGEL DOE FOR A/AS SHRIER E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2019 TAGS: ENRG EPET PGOV SUBJECT: ITALY G8 ENERGY PREP: THREE DIFFERENT "COORDINATORS" (WITH ONE FROM ENI) ROME 00000092 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Elizabeth Dibble for reasons 1.4 b and d ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Instead of having one G8 energy coordinator, Italy now appears to have at least three, one of whom currently works for the powerful Italian oil and gas parastatal ENI. A related personnel shift has given key energy portfolio responsibilities to an official with ties to ENEL, an Italian electricity parastatal with some commercial investment links to the French nuclear power industry. These appointments raise concern about how the GOI is organized for energy issues, about ENI's role in G8 preparations, and about biases that may hurt our efforts to assist U.S. firms in their plans to participate in the Italian nuclear energy power sector. End Summary. ¶2. (C) ENI's Diplomatic Advisor Vincenzo de Luca informed Post on January 21 that he has been assigned to be G8 Energy Organizational Coordinator. De Luca is a career diplomat in the Italian foreign service who is currently seconded to ENI. Based on the limited information he provided, it appears that de Luca's role will involve overall coordination of the G-8 Energy Ministerial activities. De Luca indicated that Ambassador Daniele Mancini, the current Diplomatic Advisor to Economic Development Minister Scajola, will continue to have a significant role in G8 energy matters, as would Professor Sergio Garribba. According to de Luca, Professor Garribba will be responsible for the preparation of documents, and will likely be the person to work on the energy portions of the G8 communique. De Luca indicated that with his appointment, the Ministry's management of the G8 energy portfolio will be handled by this troika of himself, Mancini and Garribba. Post will meet with de Luca next week to obtain further details. ¶3. (C) Separately, in an apparent sudden shift in leadership direction, Post learned that Professor Garribba will no longer be nominated to lead the Ministry of Economic Development's Energy Department, an under-secretary equivalent position for what would be the de facto GOI energy ministry. Instead, that position will go to Guido Bortoni, a little known senior technocrat currently at the Italian Energy Authority. Having spent ten years working at ENEL, Bortoni may still have close ties to this Italian energy parastatal. ENEL's investment ties to the French nuclear power industry cause us to worry that Bortoni may bring to this new post a bias for French nuclear technology, a bias that could hurt the chances of U.S. firms that wish to participate in Italy's multi-billion dollar nuclear power project. The new Energy Department will also have a Nuclear Division and will be headed by current Energy Director General Rosaria Romano. This is potentially worrisome, as over the years Romano has repeatedly rebuffed Embassy efforts to meet with her. Garribba will retain his position as Advisor to Minister Scajola. Asked why Garribba would no longer be nominated, de Luca simply said because he is "too old." ¶4. (C) Comment: Obviously one coordinator would have been preferable to three. This confused arrangement will be made more difficult by personal animosity that exists between Garribba and De Luca. ¶5. (C) De Luca's appointment may be another effort to spread ENI's influence, this time perhaps into the G8. ENI's influence over Italian energy policy is already quite strong. ENI has close ties to Russia's GAZPROM and believes that Italy needs more direct connections to Russian energy sources. Most recently, ENI's CEO Scaroni played a leading role in Italian efforts to mediate in the Russian - Ukraine gas dispute, in some ways overshadowing the Italian minister responsible for energy issues, Minister for Economic Development Scajola. ENI has also significant investments in the Russian energy sector and over the years has developed closer commercial ties with Gazprom, including obtaining a leading role in the Nordstream and South Stream gas pipelines. ¶6. (C) Post is already working to ensure that the appointments of Bortoni and Romano do not hurt the interests of U.S. firms (GE and Westinghouse) that are trying to participate in Italy's multi-billion dollar nuclear program. While Garribba had his shortcomings as a technocrat (he is ROME 00000092 002.2 OF 002 not very organized),he is nonetheless an extremely well informed Italian energy expert and an interlocutor whom we find to be direct and practical in his efforts to find solutions for Italy's energy challenges. End Comment. SPOGLI