US embassy cable - 04MADRID959

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 000959 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SP, EUN, Counterterrorism 
SUBJECT: SPANISH REACTION TO DEMARCHE ON MARCH 22-23 EU FMS 
AND MARCH 25-26 EC MEETINGS 
 
REF: STATE 57444 
 
Classified By: Classified by Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Political Counselor, 
 for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Spain will be putting terrorism at the top 
of its agenda for the March 22-23 EU FMS meetings and the 
March 25-26 European Council meetings.  Jointly with the 
Dutch, Spain will be backing the creation of a EU Coordinator 
for anti-terrorism efforts.  The MFA's EU Office also expects 
the investiture of the new Socialist government to proceed 
quickly and to have Miguel Angel Moratinos installed as the 
new Foreign Minister by as early as April 15.  End summary. 
 
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Terrorism and Terrorist Financing 
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2. (C) We delivered reftel demarche on March 18 to Enrique 
Mora, Director of the MFA's Office of EU Foreign Policy and 
Common Security.  On terrorist financing, Mora stated that 
Spain shares the USG's concern about the amount of time it 
takes to designate terrorists through the EU Clearinghouse 
(Spain has been working actively with the Dutch and some 
other EU states to reform the process).  He said that Spain 
sees the need for a single EU Coordinator for anti-terrorism 
efforts, which he likened to Secretary Ridge's position in 
the Department of Homeland Security.  He said that Spain and 
the Netherlands would jointly introduce a measure creating 
this position, but that he expected that United Kingdom 
representatives may disagree, as the British have been 
reluctant to streamline the process of designating terrorists. 
 
3. (C) Mora also stated that there would be a discussion on 
whether the EU should implement its Solidarity Clause in 
response to the Madrid bombings and ban trade with any 
government that is judged to not be combating terrorism.  He 
said that such a ban could affect several North African 
countries, especially in light of the events in Madrid. 
 
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Iran, Serbia and the Middle East 
--------------------------------- 
 
4. (C) Regarding Iran, Mora stated that the EU ministers 
would be calling for Iran to put its recent promises in 
writing.  He said Spain still believes in dialog with Iran, 
but that the most recent statements by the Iranian government 
on allowing inspections must be put into signed agreements. 
 
5. (C) On Serbian and Croatian cooperation with the ICTY, 
Mora said that Spain agrees that there must be a strong line 
urging cooperation with the tribunals.  However, he did not 
foresee any changes in the CARDS budget linked to cooperation. 
 
6. (C) Mora did not see any conclusions being agreed to at 
this meeting with regard to possible Israeli plans for 
unilateral disengagement.  He noted the USG's position that 
the peace process should be pursued parallel to the Greater 
Middle East Initiative, and that progress on one should not 
be linked to progress on the other. However, he mentioned 
that he thought it would be hard for the Arab states to not 
see movement on the Greater Middle East Initiative as 
contingent on progress on Israeli/Palestinian issues. 
 
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New Foreign Minister 
---------------------------- 
 
7. (C) As is commonly believed, Mora said he expected the new 
Socialist government to name Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube 
as its Foreign Minister.  He noted that Moratinos is a 
"Middle East expert", having served as the EU's Special 
Representative for the Middle East Peace Process from the end 
of 1996 to mid-2003, and as Spain's Ambassador to Israel for 
six months prior to the EU appointment.  Mora thought that 
the new government could be invested and working by as early 
as April 14. 
ARGYROS