US embassy cable - 04ROME4000

UNCLAS ROME 004000 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, UP, IT, OSCE 
SUBJECT: BUREAUCRATICS WILL KEEP ITALY FROM SECONDING 
OBSERVERS TO UKRAINE ELECTIONS 
 
REF: STATE 220961 
 
1. (SBU) OSCE Office Director Fabio Cristiani told poloff 
that a bureaucratic complication would make it impossible for 
Italy to second observers to monitor upcoming elections in 
Ukraine.  He said that Italian legislation authorizing such 
funds came with a string attached - money for transportation, 
per diem, etc., could not be paid directly by the MFA to 
individual monitors, it had to be paid through another 
institution.  In the past, ODIHR was handling that task for 
Italy (as it was for most other participating States). 
 
2. (SBU)  According to Cristiani participating States 
received a letter approximately eight months ago from the 
OSCE Secretariat indicating ODIHR would no longer take on the 
distribution function.  For most states, this represented 
only a bureaucratic headache, but Cristiani's office is 
legally prohibited from distributing the funds.  Cristiani 
said he has written to the ODIHR directorate asking for an 
exception for Italy for this "ten minute process" but has not 
received a positive response.  Cristiani is attempting to 
find a work around, such as distributing the funds through 
local NGO or have a new line-item placed in the MFA's budget. 
 However, he lamented, neither solution would be in place in 
time for either round of the Ukraine elections. 
 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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 2004ROME04000 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED