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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 001127 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE 
STATE ALSO FOR EUR/NB, EUR/ERA, INR, INL, G/TIP 
PASS TO DHS/OIA DAS MARK KOUMANS 
PASS TO DOJ 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/07/2029 
TAGS: PREL PINS PTER PINR KHLS KCIP KCRM SP PGOV
KTIP, INL 
SUBJECT: SPAIN: DHS SEC. NAPOLITANO'S MEETING WITH INTERIOR 
MINISTER 
 
REF: A. MADRID 673 
     ¶B. MADRID 671 
     ¶C. MADRID 614 
     ¶D. MADRID 551 
     ¶E. OSC EUP20091105178002 
 
MADRID 00001127  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Charge D'Affaires Arnold A. Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) a 
nd (d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on November 4 
met Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba to 
continue conversations (Refs A-D) on enhanced bilateral 
data-sharing among law enforcement authorities as well as 
increased US-EU cooperation on justice and home affairs 
issues during Spain's January-June 2010 EU Presidency.  Both 
officials reaffirmed their respective countries' commitment 
to increased data-sharing and they conducted a brainstorm 
session on how best to build support for these efforts.  They 
also agreed to develop a plan on the seizure of human 
trafficker's assets.  The meeting occurred before the 
Secre tary and Rubalcaba delivered speeches at the 31st annual 
International Conference on Data Protection and Privacy 
Commissioners (IDPC) in Madrid.  Embassy Madrid's Charge 
d'Affaires Chacon and DHS/ICE Attache Alvarez accompanied the 
Secre tary and her delegation, which included Chief of Staff 
Noah Kroloff, U/S Rand Beers, A/S for Public Affairs Sean 
Smith, and DAS for International Affairs Mark Koumans.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
//IDEAS ON HOW TO BUILD SUPPORT FOR ENHANCED DATA-SHARING// 
 
¶2. (C) Secretary Napolitano proposed that the USG and the GOS 
should work on a bilateral data-sharing agreement which could 
then be crafted in a broader context for a US-EU agreement. 
Rubalcaba stated that the GOS shared this view.  The 
Secre tary proposed that after establishing a bilateral 
agreement, the agreement should then be raised with the EU's 
G-6 members.  The Secretary and Rubalcaba acknowledged that 
increased data-sharing between the U.S. and EU will be a hard 
sell, but the two agreed that public security and personal 
privacy are not mutually exclusive concepts and confirmed 
their commitment to make this work.  Noting how difficult it 
was to achieve consensus among the EU-27, Rubalcaba argued 
that the U.S. and EU should have modest objectives that build 
support for something broadly acceptable so as not to 
frighten the public.  He suggested it would preferable to 
proceed with something rather than nothing, advocating that 
the USG and GOS should not await the formulation of a perfect 
solution.  Rubalcaba opined that the initiative is likely to 
face problems from the Czech Republic and other East 
Europeans, Sweden, and even within the European Parliament 
itself. 
 
¶3. (C) The Secretary responded that, based on their 
individual histories, some countries have well-grounded 
privacy concerns, but the way to advance this issue would be 
to demonstrate that this initiative promotes public safety. 
The Secretary, who in her speech to the IDPC later cited the 
example of how the USG recently had provided data to the 
United Kingdom to prevent the travel of an Australian rapist 
trying to enter the UK on a false Somali passport, suggested 
that the key to building support for enhanced cooperation is 
to explain the initiative well and to provide the right 
examples as success stories.  She noted this initiative will 
not just protect the public from terrorism, but also prevent 
crimes such as trafficking in persons and cybercrime. 
Arguing that the challenge is to convince EU-27 members that 
this is an agreement worth fighting for, the Secretary stated 
that she would defer to Rubalcaba's wisdom on how best to 
work this issue among EU members.  Rubalcaba agreed and 
emphasized the need to be realistic in what could be agreed 
 
MADRID 00001127  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
to among the EU-27.  He said the GOS will need to sell the 
idea and noted that DHS's new Liaison Officer posted to the 
Ministry of Interior (MOI) will be working on precisely this. 
 
 
¶4. (C) The Secretary emphasized that she and the DHS are 
aware of the key role that Spain's Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 
will play in building political support for enhanced 
cooperation on data-sharing.  (COMMENT:  Justice Minister 
Francisco Caamano canceled his scheduled meeting with the 
Secre tary due to the imminent death of his father.  END 
COMMENT.) 
 
//SENSITIVE POLITICAL CLIMATE IN SPAIN ON DATA PRIVACY 
ISSUES// 
 
¶5. (C) Rubalcaba noted that there are a lot of domestic 
sensitivities regarding data privacy in Spain, where the 
public sees proposals for increased governmental oversight as 
just an excuse for "Big Brother" to "spy on other political 
parties."  There is growing public concern regarding a 
increasingly-publicized government program to intercept phone 
calls by the general public (Ref E).  (COMMENT:  Although he 
had agreed to speak at the event, Rubalcaba was at pains to 
explain to the Secretary why he wanted to publicly distance 
himself from the IDPC as much as possible in light of these 
domestic sensitivities.  He did not want his presence to 
undercut the larger objective of enhanced bilateral 
cooperation on law enforcement issues.  However, Post notes 
that, following the Secretary's visit, Rubalcaba has become 
more directly involved in criticism of the GOS's phone 
monitoring system.  El Pais, Spain's flagship daily which 
traditionally is sympathetic to the incumbent Socialist 
Party, reported that following a heated debate in Parliament 
on November 18 the Minister reportedly had a verbal 
altercation in Congress with an opposition parliamentarian, 
whom Rubalcaba allegedly told, "I see and hear everything you 
do."  While Rubalcaba later publicly explained that he meant 
he was aware of his critic's public statements to the media 
outlets, the main opposition party subsequently has portrayed 
these comments as a threat.  The increasingly partisan tones 
of this debate are likely to complicate bilateral progress on 
this issue.  END COMMENT.) 
 
//SUPPORT FOR SEIZING HUMAN TRAFFICKERS' ASSETS// 
 
¶6. (C) Rubalcaba welcomed the Secretary's proposal to 
strengthen bilateral and U.S.-EU cooperation by establishing 
joint investigations on trafficking in persons.  The 
Secre tary suggested that since the key is to follow the money 
involved in illicit activity, human traffickers - like drug 
traffickers - should have their assets seized.  The Secretary 
suggested that the Embassy's DHS/ICE Section should work with 
the MOI and MOJ to identify a key human traffickers 
organization for a pilot investigation on how it moves money. 
 Rubalcaba suggested that DHS's Liaison Officer should also 
work with MOI and the MOJ to create a specific plan on 
cooperation in this area by the end of the year. 
 
//ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES IN MADRID// 
 
¶7. (C) The Secretary had an informal conversation at the IDPC 
with Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar, Spain's former Justice 
Minister (2004-07) who this year became Chairman of the 
European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home 
Affairs Committee.  She disagreed with his assertion that the 
U.S. Privacy Act of 1974 does not allow non-U.S. citizens to 
bring their concerns to U.S. courts and cited this example as 
a misconception regarding U.S. privacy standards that the USG 
will have to dispel.  The Secretary also spoke with the 
Prince and Princess of Asturias, who presided over the 
 
MADRID 00001127  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
inauguration of the IDPC.  The Secretary concluded her visit 
to Madrid by hosting a recognition ceremony for U.S. and 
Spanish customs officials for their work in successful joint 
operations against transnational arms and bulk cash 
smuggling. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The DHS delegation has cleared this cable. 
CHACON