VZCZCXYZ0024
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0469 1271501
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071501Z MAY 09
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6485
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1193
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1052
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0277
RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN 0446
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE 0418
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000469 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN EU KGHG SENV
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RICE MEETING WITH EC HEAD OF DELEGATION 
VALENZUELA 
 
 ¶1.  On May 5, Ambassador Rice met with European Commission 
(EC) Head of Delegation Ambassador Fernando Valenzuela.  He 
requested the meeting as an initial courtesy call. 
Valenzuela raised three specific issues:  the future of the 
EC at the UN; the President of the General Assembly's (PGA) 
June 1-3 financial crisis conference; and the September 
high-level meeting on climate change. 
 
¶2.  Valenzuela said there is a real chance that the way the 
European Union (EU) works at the UN will change radically 
with the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.  He said the 
treaty may be ratified as early as six to eight months from 
now.  Valenzuela said that two of the remaining three 
hurdles, the vote in the Czech Senate and a favorable 
decision by the German Constitutional Court, look to be 
easily overcome.  The third hurdle, the Irish referendum, is 
more challenging, but polls look good.  The vote there could 
come as soon as October.  If this happens, the treaty could 
go into force on January 1, 2010.  Valenzuela said this means 
that there will no longer be an EU Presidency headed by a 
member state on a six-month rotation; external relations for 
the EU would be handled by the professional bureaucracy in 
Brussels.  The public representation of the EU at the UN 
would probably have to undergo a slow transition of a year or 
two.  The status of the EU will have to be reconsidered.  It 
will continue as an observer, but it would be an observer 
with different characteristics and special responsibilities. 
Valenzuela concluded his discussion on this point by saying 
that the United States has been unhelpful in the past in 
matters related to EC competency and that he looked forward 
to more favorable consideration by the United States in this 
case. 
 
¶3.  On the issue of the PGA's June 1-3 conference on the 
financial crisis and its impact on development, Valenzuela 
said the EU is trying to remain positive and look for a 
favorable outcome.  To them, this would mean a conference 
that focuses on the real development impacts of the crisis, 
makes conclusions as to what should be done going forward, 
and looks to the UN system's role in response.  Valenzuela 
did voice some concerns regarding the unpredictable nature of 
the PGA and particularly mentioned his fear that the PGA 
might try to seize control of the negotiating process from 
the co-facilitators.  Valenzuela also discussed the level of 
EU participation at the conference.  He expects that most 
countries will be represented at the minister or deputy 
minister level, but Valenzuela wondered if it would send a 
bad message if developed countries were all represented at 
lower levels.  While Valenzuela did not rule out the 
participation of President Barroso, he said that he doubted 
it.  Ambassador Rice said that the United States had not yet 
made a decision on the level of our participation. 
 
¶4.  Regarding the September Secretary-General's high-level 
meeting on climate change, Valenzuela began by admitting that 
much remains unclear.  Nevertheless, the EU hopes the meeting 
will be meaningful and provide a positive influence on the 
December negotiations in Copenhagen.  Valenzuela said the 
world would be looking to the United States to show 
leadership.  Ambassador Rice said we cannot make concrete 
commitments until Congress acts and that the success or 
failure of the September 22 UN meeting should not ride on the 
United States.  Valenzuela, saying that the EU had already 
done all it could, appealed for clear messages and for U.S. 
pressure on major developing countries, in particular China. 
He also asked if President Obama would attend the meeting. 
Ambassador Rice said that no decision had been made. 
Rice