US embassy cable - 05ROME3178

C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 003178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT. FOR EUR/RPM AND EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2014 
TAGS: PREL, IT, NATO 
SUBJECT: ITALY AND NATO ENLARGEMENT: MFA NATO DESK 
CONCERNED ABOUT DELAYING MEMBERSHIP PERSPECTIVE FOR 
ALBANIA, MACEDONIA AND CROATIA UNTIL 2008 
 
REF: A. STATE 167113 
 
     B. ROME 3080 
     C. ROME 3068 
 
Classified By: Acting Pol M/C Jonathan Cohen for Reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
1. (C) Summary: Subsequent to the Rome visit of EUR P/DAS 
Volker and discussions at NATO on the US two-summit strategy 
to advance NATO's strategic direction (reftels), Italy's new 
MFA NATO Director Gianni Bardini told PolMil officers on 
September 15 that, in his personal opinion, NATO should not 
delay offering membership to Macedonia, Albania, and Croatia 
until 2008, if they are ready to be invited before then.  He 
also noted that the last enlargement round was not strictly 
tied to a summit date, with the new members joining the 
Alliance several months before the Istanbul Summit.   (Bio 
Note: Bardini's previous assignment was at the Italian 
Delegation to NATO.)  He stressed that this was a personal 
view, as the GOI had not yet had time to develop a national 
position. End Summary. 
 
2. (C) Bardini pointed out that he three members of the NATO 
Membership Action Plan (MAP), have had their applications "in 
the pipeline" for a long time.  Using conditions-based 
criteria, Macedonia and Croatia, Bardini asserted, have made 
good progress in meeting the accession requirements. 
Albania, though still a bit behind, is making progress on the 
legislative front and, more importantly, has demonstrated 
considerable goodwill.  The prospect of near-term NATO 
membership is important for political reasons, he argued, 
because it encourages these countries to continue making the 
necessary changes as quickly as possible.  He worried that 
postponing a decision on membership for an additional two 
years would have a negative impact on the pace of reforms. 
More generally, he added, it is important to keep the 
perspective of joining the Euro-Atlantic community on the 
table for these three countries.  Croatia will join the EU 
soon, and it is a very serious candidate for NATO if progress 
is made on the Gotovina issue, because conditions are very 
near being met on the defense side.  If Gotovina is captured 
and turned over, there would be no rationale for postponing 
Croatian membership. 
 
3. (C) Bardini further said that it would be unfair to link 
NATO accession of the MAP countries to membership for Ukraine 
and Georgia, which are "a different basket."  These 
countries, he said, are at very different, less prepared 
levels than the MAP 3 from both a military and political 
perspective.  He added that the political situation in 
Ukraine is "very shaky" and NATO membership for Ukraine is a 
very recent idea. 
 
4. (C) Bardini did not appear swayed by the argument that 
NATO needed to focus its energy on completing transformation 
before taking on new members.  Some issues, he said, such as 
the ISAF/OEF merger in Afghanistan, will be resolved in the 
short-term.  Political decisions on other issues will take 
more time, he added, but NATO needs to deal with all the 
major issues, including enlargement, concurrently.  Bardini 
assumed the U.S. would carry the day on summit dates and the 
sequence of transformation and enlargement, but urged us to 
think about keeping the membership perspective for the MAP 
countries attractive, truly conditions-based, and de-linked 
from shortcomings in Georgia and Ukraine. 
 
5. (C) Comment:  While Bardini's views are, as he took pains 
to point out, not Italian policy, as the MFA NATO Office 
Director and a veteran of the Italian NATO delegation, his 
opinions will carry considerable weight and merit our 
attention.  Post would welcome points we can use with him and 
other Italian officials to demonstrate how we will keep the 
2008 date from slowing progress on reforms and from souring 
MAP opinion (both public and official) on NATO membership. 
End Comment. 
SPOGLI 
 
 
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 2005ROME03178 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL