Cablegate: France: Das Anderson Bilats On Un Reform, Wipo, Icao, Unep,

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INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 004201

SIPDIS

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON UN ETRD EAIR FR
SUBJECT: FRANCE: DAS ANDERSON BILATS ON UN REFORM, WIPO, ICAO, UNEP,
IAEA ISSUES
NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION
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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) On October 3, DAS Gerald Anderson met with MFA
PDAS-equivalents Marc Giacomini of the Directorate for UN and
International organizations, and Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel of the
Directorate for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament.
Anderson presented an overview of the U.S. transparency and
accountability agenda in the context of UN reform. He heard
positive reaction to UN reform and "One UN" country pilot projects,
as well as GOF concerns about discussion of aircraft emissions in
ICAO, political leadership on environmental issues and potential
worries about the new U.S. Postal Act. He was also informed that an
EU common position limiting the number of mandates that leaders of
international organizations can serve could help justify EU
opposition to another term for IAEA DG El Baradei. End of Summary.

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WIPO: NO EASY WAY OUT
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2. (SBU) Marc Giacomini said the GOF concurred with the USG desire
for a rapid solution of the scandal over the Sudanese WIPO Director
General Kamil Idris' fraudulent practice of changing his birth date
to obtain greater pension benefits. However, he worried that
replacing Idris would be seen as targeting African countries, rather
than as an effort to address a case of individual corruption. The
issue needed to be handled diplomatically to keep it "from souring
and becoming a North-South issue." Giacomini was interested in the
possibility of naming another African to replace Idris, whether for
a full or partial term in office, as one possible way to address
this concern. He urged that the scandal not overshadow the
otherwise "good results" of the WIPO organization's "success story."

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ICAO: AIRCRAFT EMISSIONS
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3. (SBU) Anderson raised U.S. concerns with the proposed EU
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for aviation. Giacomini observed
that the proposal reflected the EU approach to climate change, which
is oriented towards using tax schemes to encourage the airline
industry to invest in emissions-reducing technology. He did not
think the best solution to this problem was necessarily via ICAO,
since it is "controlled by airlines." However, he did agree that
technology was "at least part of the answer" to a better
environment.

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NEW U.S. POSTAL ACT, UPU and EU
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4. (SBU) Anderson described the December 2006 U.S. Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) with a view to the next
Universal Postal Union (UPU) meeting in Nairobi in 2008. The PAEA,
which was designed to increase competition and efficiency in the
U.S. postal market, will require equal treatment between postal and
commercial carriers. This will affect outbound international mail
handled by U.S private carriers such as UPS, Fedex and DHL. Items
determined to be "market competitive" (as opposed to "market
dominant") under UPU's designation will need equal treatment with
respect to customs clearance (which currently makes commercial
express products much more costly). U.S. private carriers already
provide advance electronic data on those items to U.S. Customs and
Border Protection. In future such data might also be required for
incoming shipments by foreign posts, depending on interpretation of
the PAEA. Giacomini said such requirements would not pose a problem
if the range of required data is limited to what is called for under
EU regulations. Otherwise, he foresaw a problem with France's Data
Protection Agency (CNIL), similar to that which arose over PNR.

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UNEP OR UNEO?
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5. (SBU) Anderson noted that the United States had presented the
U.S. view in favor of strengthening the United Nations Environment
Program (UNEP) at a conference attended by Environment and
Sustainable Development Minister Jean-Louis Borloo last month in
Brazil. Giacomini responded that France favored creation of a new
United Nations Environment Organization (UNEO) to change the current
fragmented and costly system into a more coherent and efficient one.
Giacomini hoped the U.S. would be less "defensive" about France's
suggested "improvements" to UNEP. He called for discussions on
specifics, since the U.S. and France disagreed on the means for
introducing change. He added that an opportunity was missed after
the Cartagena decision on International Environment Governance
adopted in 2002. Anderson and Giacomini agreed on the potential

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SUMMARY
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utility of discussing steps short of creating a new organization on
which the United States and the EU might be able to find consensus.

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UN SYSTEM-WIDE COHERENCE
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6. (SBU) Anderson indicated that the United States intended to track
implementation of reforms suggested by the Secretary General's
high-level panel on system-wide coherence to make the UN system
transparent and accountable. He pointed to the urgency of
management reforms at Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO),
which had become a "nightmare." Giacomini approved the principle of
management reforms at FAO, but noted that it would be costly (citing
a risk of double-digit budget increases for 2-3 years if there is a
move to IPSAS norms at FAO). He doubted that the French Parliament
would approve an increase in the MFA's international organizations
budget any time soon. Anderson suggested the best tactic for
achieving good management practices is adoption of the IEE first (to
enshrine the principle), followed by adoption of a "survival"
budget. Giacomini further noted that France was not optimistic
about institutional changes in the UN system and the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP). However, France was hopeful for the One
UN pilot projects. France has selected Vietnam and Cape Verde as
its pilot countries. Six additional countries have volunteered to
become One UN pilots: Albania, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda,
Tanzania and Uruguay.

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IAEA
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7. (SBU) Anderson opened the meeting with Jean-Hughes Simon-Michel,
Deputy Director for Strategic Affairs, Security and Disarmament, by
noting the U.S. contribution to the IAEA's new work in the DPRK.
Simon-Michel explained that France was exploring ways to obtain EU
funding through joint action in the Second Pillar (Common Foreign
and Security Policy). Queried on Israel's participation in the
Western European and Other States Group (WEOG), Simon-Michel
declared that France's current "cautious" stance was likely to
evolve, but that it favored Israeli participation in more technical
UN agencies, rather than in IAEA.

8. (SBU) On the issue of a new mandate for Mohamed El Baradei as
head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Simon-Michel
referred to an existing EU common position on the mandates of
leaders of international organizations. Such mandates should be
limited to 12 years, or two mandates. This would mean that the EU
would not support a new term for El Baradei. Simon-Michel added
that the IAEA was strategic for France in the context of growing
global demand for civilian nuclear energy development.

PEKALA

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