This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUCHAREST 000748 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL/AAE, EUR/ACE, EUR/NCE, EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC PREL ECON EU GR TU SR HU SL BK MK BU HR RO
SUBJECT: SECI CENTER AND BRUSSELS: A VIEW FROM THE OTHER 
SIDE 
 
Summary 
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¶1. SECI Center DoS Coordinator traveled to Brussels and met 
with EU officials concerning SECI initiatives and EU plans 
to become more involved with the Center.  Though EU 
officials were very interested in the current work of SECI, 
they were reluctant to commit any resources despite the 
reality that SECI will physically sit within the EU in two 
years.  SECI remains dependent on outside funding and the 
lack of a critical mass of support by the EU leaves only USG 
funding to continue the work of the SECI Center. 
 
LIMITS OF BRUSSEL'S IMAGINATION 
------------------------------- 
¶2.  In meetings with senior EC officials in February, the 
SECI Center DoS Coordinator discussed possible future 
engagement by Brussels in SECI Center affairs.  Michel 
Peretti, Head of Unit for the Western Balkans, stressed the 
Commission's view that in order for Brussels to adopt a 
closer relationship with the SECI Center, EUROPOL would have 
to be involved. Throughout the discussions, Commission 
officials stressed that institutions, in this case EUROPOL, 
were the critical element in any policy equation regarding 
law enforcement.  Peretti envisioned SECI becoming a EUROPOL 
office over the course of time.  To achieve this goal, 
however, every current member state of SECI Center would 
have to be a member of the European Union.  This would be a 
process that would take years, if not decades, and is 
unrealistic in terms of an overall strategy for the Center. 
Currently, three of twelve states are EU members.  In two 
years time, two additional states (Romania, Bulgaria) will 
join and finally, in three to five years possibly one 
additional (Croatia).  Hence, even at the end of the 
accession process, only half the SECI members could 
reasonably be expected to be in the EU. 
 
¶3.  The idea that EUROPOL would have an office built upon 
the present SECI Center is unachievable in any foreseeable 
time frame.  Nevertheless, Commission officials and DoS SECI 
Coordinator agreed that the work currently being done at 
SECI deserves full support from both Washington and 
Brussels, no matter what the long-term future holds for the 
Center.  Further contact and discussions between DoS 
Coordinator and Commission officials was agreed to in order 
to draw out EU plans for SECI in the future, plans that to 
date have not been communicated fully by Brussels. 
 
Trust but Verify 
---------------- 
¶4.  Senior Commission advisors and experts were both 
interested in and impressed with the Center's issues, 
notably the restarting of the Financial Crime Task Force and 
the continued progress of the Southeast Europe Prosecutor's 
Advisory Working Group (SEEPAG). In the case of the 
Financial Crime Task Force, they were pleased that such an 
initiative was finally moving forward in a region, which has 
had a "blind spot" for such criminal activities in the past. 
Similarly with SEEPAG, there was great interest in the 
innovative fashion that it is incorporating the information 
sharing process pioneered by the police and customs 
officials at the Center.  Though the suspicion of past and 
current USG involvement in the Center has not been 
completely erased, the meetings with DoS SECI Coordinator 
provided the opportunity to look toward long-range 
engagement in the Center. 
 
Comment 
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¶5. This initial meeting between DoS SECI Coordinator and 
Commission officials was designed as a "meet and greet", 
rather than as an opportunity to explore substantive issues 
requiring immediate solutions. To date, Brussels has not 
been forthcoming with resources in support of the SECI 
Center, despite the fact in two years the Center will be 
physically located within the EU and the EU recently drafted 
a comprehensive and often positive critique of the Center's 
activities and structure.  The EU's reliance on EUROPOL for 
all law enforcement matters will at the end of the day work 
against the achievements of the Center, as well as the EU's 
future engagement in the Center.  The SECI Center has grown 
into a transborder crime fighting model which is beginning 
to bear fruit with arrests, convictions and regional 
cooperation between capitals.  A new approach by the EU will 
be required so as not to lose the capabilities and full 
regional coverage so far developed.  In addition, future 
discussions with the EU must seek Brussels' commitment to 
help support SECI with resources.  NOTE: This and other SECI 
related cables are available on the Bucharest SIPERnet site 
under - RSO, Law Enforcement. 
DELARE