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Cablegate: Media Reaction: Iran, Euro, European Commission, Ukraine,

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RR RUEHAG RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #0173/01 0411300
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101300Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6524
INFO RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 2010
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0738
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1255
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 2756
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1772
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 0933
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE//J5 DIRECTORATE (MC)//
RHMFISS/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
RUZEADH/UDITDUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BERLIN 000173

STATE FOR INR/R/MR, EUR/PAPD, EUR/PPA, EUR/CE, INR/EUC, INR/P,
SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/DSAA, DIA FOR DC-4A

VIENNA FOR CSBM, CSCE, PAA

"PERISHABLE INFORMATION -- DO NOT SERVICE"

SIPDIS

E.0. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IR EMS EU UP CE GM
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: IRAN, EURO, EUROPEAN COMMISSION, UKRAINE,
SRI LANKA, GERMANY-OPEL;BERLIN

1. Lead Stories Summary
2. (Iran) Nuclear Program, Protests
3. (EU) Euro Financial Crisis
4. (EU) New European Commission
5. (Ukraine) Aftermath of Elections
6. (Sri Lanka) Rising Tensions
7. (Germany-U.S.) GM-Opel


1. Lead Stories Summary

Print media focused on the Constitutional Court's decision over the
level of Hartz IV social security payments. Handelsblatt opened
with Opel's restructuring plans and Financial Times Deutschland with
EU aid to Greece. Editorials focused on Opel and the Constitutional
Court's ruling. ZDF-TV's early evening newscast heute and ARD-TV's
early evening newscast Tagesschau also opened with the ruling on
re-calculating of Hartz IV social security benefits.

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2. (Iran) Nuclear Program, Protests

Various papers (2/10) carried reports that Iran has begun to further
enrich uranium. In a lengthy report under the headline: "One Step
Closer to the Nuclear Bomb," Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported that
"despite global protests, Iran begins with the enrichment of uranium
to 20 percent. According to its own information, Iran has begun to
enrich. On the night before, U.S. Defense Secretary Gates and
French Foreign Minister Kouchner said that the UN Security Council
should now quickly intensify sanctions on Iran. Gates added that
this would last weeks, not months. The head of the Russian Security
Council, Nicolai Patrushev warned against a rising danger for war
and doubted that Iran's nuclear program only served peaceful means.
According to a report from the IAEA, Iran wants to use it pilot
plant in Natans to enrich the material from 3.5 percent to below 20
percent...."

Handelsblatt (2/10) headlined: "Iran Begins to Produce Higher
Enriched Uranium," and wrote: "Despite looming international
sanctions, Iran has, according to its own information, begun to
produce higher enriched uranium..... With such an enrichment level,
Iran would come a great step closer to the production of
weapons-gradable uranium, which requires an enrichment level of 85
percent.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (2/10) carried a lengthy report
headlined: "Carefully Dosed Escalation," and noted: "The head of
Iran's Nuclear Energy Agency said on state TVV Monday night that
Iran would stop the new activities in Natans [the enrichment of
uranium] if the countries abroad were willing to supply fuel for the
Research reactor in Tehran - and this of course on Iranian
conditions. But this statement should be enough for China to
intensify its obstructionist behavior. Thus far, Beijing was able
to hide behind Moscow which has withstood demands for a tougher
course towards Iran. But now the Russians are playing their cards
close to their chest and are even signaling that they are losing
patience with Tehran, too.... Under China's protection, Tehran is
now daring a provocation. At issue is the production of nuclear
explosives."

In a report under the headline: "Enriched Distrust," Die Welt (2/10)
reported that "fears in the West seem to confirm now that Iran does
not want to stick to lowly enriched uranium.... A nuclear expert in
Iran is speaking of an Iranian provocation of the international
community. He said: 'It would even be an excessively dangerous play
for Ahmadinejad to plunge the country into a crisis as the
consequence of sanctions or even a military strike.' That is why he
thinks that this is an Iranian move to bring back the global powers
to the negotiating table. But a foreign diplomat warned that "the

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move could also backfire.'"

Frankfurter Rundschau (2/10) reported under the headline: "Iran is
Playing a Risky Poker Game" and wrote that "President Ahmadinejad
can be certain that each of his moves meets with a great echo in the
media. But experts take a sober look at Iran's capabilities.
According to the IAEA, Iran has 8,300 centrifuges, half of which do
not work. Thus far, Iran has been able to enrich 1,800 kilograms of
uranium to 3.5 percent but a nuclear bomb requires an enrichment
level of 85 percent. It is Iran's goal to operate 50,000
centrifuges."

In an editorial, Die Welt (2/10) judged under the headline: "A Fist
into the Face," that "following the orgy of lies with respect to the
stolen elections from June and the appearance of Iran's Foreign
Minister Mottaki in Munich at the Security Conference, the things
the Iranian foreign minister said are even less credible than
before. 3.5 percent or 20 percent enrichment level is not only a
question for nuclear physicists, but in the meantime it has become
an issue for the world as a whole and for the Middle East in
particular. While the UN Security Council meets and discusses tough
sanctions on Iran, Ahmadinejad is hitting the world with a fist in
the face. If he gets away with it, the NPT will only be a piece of
paper, the Middle East the laboratory of the apocalypse, and the
global order just an empty word."

Spiegel online (2/10) reported of attacks of Iranians against the
Italian embassy in Tehran under the headline: "Iranians Attack
Italian Embassy" and reported that about one hundred Iranians
attacked the Italian Embassy in Tehran and protested in front of the
building. They shouted 'Death to Italy,' and 'Death to Berlusconi,'
obviously out of protest against Italy's demands to impose sanctions
on Iran in the nuclear conflict with Tehran. Italy's Foreign
Minister Frattini is outraged at the events in front of the embassy
and called them 'hostile.' Iranian media, however, described the
incident as a peaceful demonstration by radical students. Similar
events happened in front of the Dutch and French Embassy."

Sueddeutsche (2/10) caried a picture depicting protesters with
banners saying: 'European governments - Stop supporting Terorism'
and "French Government - Terrorism suporter.' The caption reads:
"Supporters of the Iranian regime protested in front of the French
and Italian embassies in Tehran. The protesters hurled stones at
the Italian embassy and the protesters tried to storm the building."


3. (EU) Euro Financial Crisis

All papers (2/10) carried reports on the European response to the
fiscal crisis in Greece. Front-page headlines included: "EU work on
assistance for Greece" (Frankfurter Allgemeine), "EU wants to help
the Greeks" (Sddeutsche), "Greece can hope for assistance by Euro
countries" (Die Welt), "Berlin carries Euros to Athens" (FT
Deutschland).

FT Deutschland (2/10) opined: "The trigger of the third wave of the
crisis was not a bankruptcy of a bank like Lehman Brothers, but the
bankruptcy of a country. Greece is an obvious and acute problem,
but not the only one. If Greece plunges into chaos, it can be
expected that some European banks will follow. A small national
bankruptcy would therefore pose a huge threat to the global
financial system. When Chancellor Merkel and her colleagues meet
tomorrow in Brussels, it will not just be about Greece but also
about the future of the European currency union."

Frankfurter Allgemeine (2/10) reported on its front page: "EU
Commissioner Almunia fueled speculation that the EU might soon
provide financial assistance to Greece. He told the European

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Parliament that member states should promise Greece help if it
commits itself to tough expenditure cuts." In a separate report
under the headline "Markets celebrate prospect for assistance to
Greece," Frankfurter Allgemeine noted that "the hints on assistance
to Greece calmed down investors."

Die Welt (2/10) highlighted that "Greece strikes at the root of
government expenditures," adding that "a tough program of higher
taxes, wage cuts and a hire freeze are supposed to prevent Greece
from becoming insolvent.... The country must regain its
credibility among financial markets. The mistaken statement of
Australia's Reserve Bank, which said that Jean-Claude Trichet had to
leave the country early to be able to participate in a crisis
meeting of the ECB that deals with the problems of the Euro zone,
shows how nervous the financial world is. If the Reserve Bank had
not corrected the message soon after, that would have been dramatic
news."

Frankfurter Rundschau (2/10) reported that "ECB President
Jean-Claude Trichet's sudden change of his travel plans due to the
EU special summit on Thursday triggered new speculation over a
rescue operation for Greece.... According to EU diplomats, the EU
state and government leaders will discuss Greece's crisis on the
margins of their meeting. They added that, however, a bailout
program belongs to the realm of fantasy."

Business daily Handelsblatt (2/10) highlighted that "the EU wants to
help Athens - but only in cutting expenditures. Greece is supposed
to cut spending drastically as the tensions in the Euro zone are
increasing."

4. (EU) New European Commission

Sdwestrundfunk radio (2/9) opined on the approval of the new EU
Commission: "EU Commission President Barroso's policy approach of
'divide and rule' has given him a submissive administrative
apparatus with competences that overlap and commissioners that will
inevitably fight over their responsibilities.... This is how the
new Europe after the Lisbon Treaty presents itself. President
Barack Obama has drawn the right conclusions and cancelled his
participation in the planned EU-U.S. summit. Washington said that
it is not clear who is responsible for what in Europe. However, the
majority in Strasbourg did not care about it."

Frankfurter Allgemeine (2/10) editorialized: "Instead of being such
a big mouth, the EU Commission would be well-advised to focus on a
few major projects, such as overcoming the economic crisis, and
proving that European citizens benefit from this institution."

Frankfurter Rundschau (2/10) analyzed: "The EU commission is now
elected and the parliament has clearly attained more power. It
must now use this power.... The members of parliament must prove
that they cannot just fight for more rights, but are willing to make
use of their new opportunities. Only then will the new power
balance in Europe contribute to leading the European Union out of
its current critical state. Although everybody talked about the
commission yesterday, the parliamentarians are important for the new
beginning."

5. (Ukraine) Aftermath of Elections

Frankfurter Allgemeine (2/10) editorialized: "Europe has an interest
in a democratic, prosperous and western-oriented Ukraine. If Kiev
decides to take the post-Soviet path of poverty and authoritative
structures, migration, collapsing markets and instability would
follow. This danger has been realized a long time ago. Kiev and
Brussels have been discussing an association agreement, including a
free trade area, which could bring Ukraine as close to Europe as

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Norway and Island. Yanukovich will continue these negotiations.
There is still much to do. Yanukovich can get rid of his reputation
of being Moscow's man if he solidifies democracy and fights
corruption. He would have to renounce detours that contradict the
EU's common foreign and security policy. He cannot want a free
trade union with Russia and the EU at the same time. He must adjust
numerous laws. If this happens Europe must do something in return."

6. (Sri Lanka) Rising Tensions

"Turnabout in Sri Lanka," headlined Sueddeutsche Zeitung (2/10) and
judged: "There are no doubts about Mahinda Rajapakse's election
victory, even though his challenger does not want to accept the
outcome. Nevertheless, the state leader acts with the arrogance of
power and has not passed up the opportunity to humiliate Sarath
Fonseka, who was defeated in the elections, by arresting him under
dubious circumstances. He is thus pushing a worrying development.
Those who do not subject to the ruling presidential clan are living
dangerously in Sri Lanka. As a matter of fact, Sri Lanka has
reason for hope one year after the end of the civil war.... In this
situation, the future should lead to an open civil society. But the
state leader and his stooges are now choosing the opposite
direction."

7. (Germany-U.S.) GM-Opel

Norddeutscher Rundfunk radio of Hamburg (2/10) commented: "There is
no guarantee for the success of Opel's current restructuring plan to
keep jobs in Germany, but it could be possible that General Motors
will soon change its plans again, shifting production to other
countries or continuing to cut jobs. According to GM, part of the
assistance for Opel should come from the so-called 'Deutschland
Fund' for needy companies, which was created to alleviate the impact
of the economic and financial crisis. But the problem is that
Opel's misery has nothing to do with the financial crisis.... There
is no doubt that, after a few cosmetic changes, the LQnder minister
presidents will approve [GM's] request; they will always do it by
referring to a potential loss of jobs. But this is not reasonable.
On the contrary."

National radio station Deutschlandfunk (2/9) commented: "8,300 jobs
will be cut in Europe, but in order to achieve this goal, GM demands
comprehensive subsidies...but it would be wrong to expect further
funds from Detroit. That is why the European government should
think twice before distributing further state guarantees because
there is a great danger that further tax funds would be pointlessly
wasted. It is a fact that General Motors is urgently dependent on
efficient and environmentally friendly cars from Europe, especially
for the American market. That is why GM must clearly use more funds
for the restructuring than it has announced thus far. This is the
necessary signal that GM also believes in Opel. But no government
and no state parliament should accept GM's position of dumping the
risks of the restructuring plan on the European taxpayers and also
dictating the rules of the game."

Under the headline: "Parsimonious," Frankfurter Allgemeine (2/10)
noted: "With another state loan, Opel boss Nick Reilly wants to
finance the restructuring of the company. The Economics Ministry is
right to wonder whether General Motors is unable to finance the
restructuring on its own. It is right that GM and indirectly Opel
receive a lot of funds from Washington but the result was that the
U.S. state has become the majority owner and has the right to
receive future dividends. However, the German taxpayer has a few
plants and property as security. There are no guarantees for the
preservation of jobs. Apart from this fact, it would not be useful
to offer loans because other competitors such as Volkswagen must

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deal with the overproduction of cars on their own."

According to Sueddeutsche Zeitung (2/10), it would be a "bad deal"
to accept GM's restructuring plan. "There are good reasons not to
accept his offer," the daily argued, and added: "First, GM said that
the overall costs of the restructuring plan would be 3.3 billion
euros, but only 600 million are paid by GM itself. For a company
that was bailed out last year with 50 billion dollars and that is
today boasting that it would be able to repay the money soon, this
is too little. GM should at least pay half the restructuring cost
for Opel. Second, the Americans hope to get funds from the
'Deutschland Fund" which was set up to help companies which are in
trouble because of the financial crisis. But is this the case with
Opel? An exception for Opel would be a precedent with unforeseeable
consequences. Third: GM wants to invest 11 billion euros in Europe.
But what GM does not say is that, if business is bad and if GM does
not make a profit, then there will be no 11 billion euros. If that
is the case, the billions which the taxpayers are supposed to pay
would be in vain."

MURPHY

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