US embassy cable - 03ROME4616

C O N F I D E N T I A L  ROME 004616 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/ERA AND EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2013 
TAGS: PREL, IT, EUN, ESDP 
SUBJECT: ITALY'S EU PRESIDENCY: VIEWS ON FIRST IGC SESSION 
 
REF: ROME 4654 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR TOM COUNTRYMAN.  REASON: 1. 
5 (B)(D) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: The Italian EU Presidency views the results 
of the Summit for the opening of the Intergovernmental 
Conference (IGC) on the European Constitution quite 
positively, and is hopeful that it was the beginning of a 
process in which European leaders start to see the 
constitution in terms of European, rather than national 
interests.  Roadblocks that remain in front of agreement 
include the UK's red-line on Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) 
on CFSP issues, Spain's reluctance to modify weighted voting 
arrangements, and an overall lack of specificity in the draft 
constitution and resulting lack of understanding of proposals 
among some member states.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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BETTER THAN RIVA 
---------------- 
 
2. (C)  On October 6, the MFA's Director for EU Institutional 
Issues, Giuseppe Buccino, told poloffs that that the Italian 
Presidency viewed the results of the Summit for the opening 
of the Intergovernmental Conference on the European 
Constitution quite positively.  The mood of the delegations 
was "far better after the IGC than after the (informal 
ministerial) meeting at Riva del Garda." While acknowledging 
that there remained fundamental differences on some aspects 
of the draft treaty among some member states, Buccino said 
that he was "astonished" at the spirit of compromise that 
defined most of the meeting.  Italy is hopeful that the IGC's 
work can be completed during the Italian Presidency, but that 
is not an essential condition for producing a document ready 
to sign by May 2004.  If the IGC can forge "political" 
agreement on major issues by the end of December, the Irish 
Presidency could convene additional IGC sessions to 
"elaborate" details on more complicated areas of the treaty. 
This would certainly apply to areas of the 
treaty/constitution dealing with Common Foreign and Security 
Policy (CFSP). 
 
3. (C) The key is to build on the momentum of the Convention 
and IGC; any pause in the process risks "unraveling" the hard 
won compromises forged during the convention, emphasized 
Buccino.  Aside from the Euro-elections and enlargement, the 
other event driving a spring 2004 completion for the 
constitution is the beginning of deliberations for the next 
EU budget in 2006.  Buccino is therefore hopeful that the IGC 
summit was the beginning of a process in which European 
leaders start to see the constitution in terms of European, 
rather than national interests. 
 
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ROADBLOCKS REMAIN 
----------------- 
 
4. (C) Buccino is realistic about the roadblocks that remain 
in front of agreement, even at the political level, on 
fundamental constitutional issues.  For instance, the UK's 
red-line on Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) on CFSP issues, 
and its insistence that it will never give up the veto on 
security decisions, even if down the road there is a strong 
push from the Council to move away from consensus decision 
making on security matters.  Spain's reluctance to compromise 
on favorable (and according to Buccino unfair, based on its 
size) voting arrangements it obtained in the Nice treaty may 
also become a problem, particularly if some of the smaller 
new members look to maximize their influence through such 
weighted voting arrangements. 
 
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COOPERATION ON SECURITY 
----------------------- 
 
5. (C) Buccino said he saw an increasing level of cooperation 
and agreement among Germany, France and the UK regarding 
structured cooperation for ESDP.  He was unsure how the 
seeming contradiction between the UK's red line on consensus 
for security decisions and having a core group drive ESDP 
could be overcome.  Buccino thought that the core could be 
given a mandate to take decisions within parameters 
established by all member states, but this was an area that 
 
would require further study, debate and compromise.  Buccino 
assured poloffs structured cooperation would not include a 
separate (Tervuren) HQ for planning.  Reftel provides more 
detail on security issues from EU informal Defense Ministers 
meeting. 
 
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THE ROAD AHEAD - MORE SPECIFICITY NEEDED 
---------------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Buccino said that other institutional issues will 
require creative thinking and willingness to compromise to 
reach agreement by December.  Member states are 
understandably nervous about the powers to be accorded the 
proposed EU foreign minister and "double-hatting" the 
position under both the Commission and Council.  Buccino said 
that the IGC must enhance the framework language in the 
current draft treaty, giving it a level of specificity and 
clarity that will allow member states to sign on with 
confidence.  Despite press reports to the contrary, Buccino 
claimed that there was little support among member states for 
retaining the six-month rotation for the Council Presidency. 
The problem is that the alternative of 2-1/2 year presidency 
for the European Council with "team presidencies" for 
individual councils has not been adequately explained to 
member states - similarly for the composition of the 
Commission.  According to Buccino, Italy will see to it that 
the IGC sessions between now and December provide more 
precise text. 
 
7. (C) Comment:  The Italian government remains hopeful that 
it can complete the IGC during its Presidency, and knows that 
extended debate could jeopardize that goal.  However, the 
Presidency took a much lighter stand on October 4 than it did 
at Riva on September 6, when Frattini declared that the job 
of the IGC was only to fine-tune the Convention's draft and 
that opening major chapters of the document to discussion 
should be forbidden.  Another sign of the Presidency's 
attempt to placate those in the EU who want to see more, 
rather than less debate is the decision to revise the work 
plan for the remainder of the IGC based on the results of the 
October 4 meeting, to post it on the Presidency web-site, and 
to allow ongoing revisions which take into account progress - 
or the lack of it - on individual issues.   Italy's success 
in bringing the IGC to a close during its Presidency will 
depend on FM Frattini's and PM Berlusconi's ability to strike 
a balance between allowing open debate over a document that 
is supposed to bring more transparency to EU decision-making, 
and the need to exercise its leadership as Council Presidency 
by quickly forging compromises and limiting discussion to 
complete the process on time. 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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 2003ROME04616 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL