US embassy cable - 05BRUSSELS72

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 000072 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/07/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EAID, AS, JA, CA, EUN, UN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: AUSTRALIANS SEEK COMMON POSITION WITH U.S.ON WCDR 
AND EU ADDITIONALITY 
 
REF: A. HUIZINGA-CHASE/LUCAS/PEAY E-MAILS 
 
     B. 01/06/05 
 
Classified By: USEU POLOFF TODD HUIZINGA FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: We met with counterparts from the Australian 
Mission to the EU, at their request, to discuss EU 
additionality and the World Conference on Disaster Reduction 
(WCDR), to be held in Kobe January 18-22.  The Australians 
said Canberra was concerned, in the context of the tsunami 
disaster, about &perceptions that may arise if Australia 
were seen as letting a procedural concern8 such as 
additionality hinder the Kobe conference,s mobilization of 
support for those affected by the tsunami. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) In their January 7 meeting with Poloff, Alison Burrows 
(protect), Minister, and Catherine Dobbin (protect), Third 
Secretary, said the Australian position on additionality 
 
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remained broadly in agreement with the U.S.  They said that 
Australia was developing a specific stance on the status and 
rights of the European Commission at WCDR, and asked for U.S. 
views.  We told them that the USG,s general views on EU 
additionality, conveyed to the Australians in New York and 
elsewhere, had not changed.  However, we noted USG thinking 
on WCDR is fluid (ref).  We stressed that the U.S. welcomes 
the European Commission,s (EC) active participation at WCDR, 
and added that the EU had not yet responded to our December 
2004 questions on WCDR. 
 
3. (C) Burrows replied that Australia had posed specific 
questions to the EU on WCDR, and was awaiting a response. 
She said that contacts with Japanese officials had given her 
the impression that Japan &was sitting on its hands8 
regarding EU additionality and WCDR, not wanting disputes 
over additionality to cloud the Kobe conference.  Burrows and 
Dobbin, who were asked to speak to us by their Foreign 
Ministry, said Australia would prefer to come to a &common 
position8 on EC participation at WCDR with like-minded 
countries such as the U.S., Japan and Canada.  They said they 
would keep us abreast of developments regarding Australian 
policy, and asked that we do the same. 
 
MCKINLEY