AUSTRIA PREPARING TO SUPPORT AFGHANISTAN MISSION

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 000065 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE AND SCA/A E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/19/2019 TAGS: PREL AF AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIA PREPARING TO SUPPORT AFGHANISTAN MISSION WITH POLICE AND FUNDING REF: 09 VIENNA 1570 Classified by: Economic-Political Counselor J. Dean Yap for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Bernhard Zimburg, MFA East Asia Director, told Polchief January 13 that the GOA is preparing to send five active duty police officers and, most likely, two retired judges to the EUPOL mission in Afghanistan. The Interior Ministry has issued a request for volunteers for the police positions. Officials at Interior have not formally agreed to deploy the two retired judges, but they are expected to do so soon, Zimburg said. Before the personnel can be sent to Afghanistan, the Council of Ministers will have to approve the deployment and the GOA will send a "fact finding mission" to Afghanistan to check on arrangements. The Austrian personnel would begin their duty in Afghanistan by March at the earliest. Once there, they will be under EUPOL authority; the GOA will not place any restrictions on their activities, he said. ¶2. (C) The GOA is also preparing to fund a number of projects in Afghanistan. The MFA is hoping to put together a total of 3-4 million Euros for 2010, though the funding levels need to be negotiated with other GOA entities, particularly the Finance Ministry, Zimburg said. The funding levels under consideration include: -- 1-2 million Euros in leftover disaster relief funds to be provided to a fund for UN agencies in Afghanistan. -- Half a million Euros for a UNODC anti-corruption project. -- 250,000 Euros for a de-mining project run by an NGO under UN auspices. -- 100,000-200,000 Euros for a number of small OSCE projects. EACHO