AS I DEPART SLOVAKIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRATISLAVA 001129

SIPDIS


FOR THE SECRETARY
ALSO FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE, U/S GROSSMAN, AND EUR
A/S JONES
FROM AMBASSADOR WEISER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2024
TAGS: PREL ECON LO
SUBJECT: AS I DEPART SLOVAKIA


Classified By: AMB RONALD WEISER FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D)


1. (U) Mr. Secretary,

As I prepare to leave Slovakia, I want to thank you for the
opportunity to serve as Ambassador and look ahead briefly to
the future of U.S. relations with Slovakia.

WHERE WE ARE
--------------


2. (C) When I arrived in Slovakia in November 2001, we faced
the very real possibility of a return to power of the
autocratic and corrupt former Prime Minister, Vladimir
Meciar. However, by working with our European allies and the
NGO community, we encouraged high voter turnout. This
enabled remnants of the existing pro-democracy ruling
coalition to form a new center-right coalition with Mikulas
Dzurinda returning as Prime Minister. This was the first
time that a reform government was able to win re-election in
Central Europe. The GOS has been able to successfully adopt
its package of western oriented reforms and Prime Minister
Dzurinda should have no difficulty serving out his term.


3. (C) Slovakia has been called an investor's paradise and it
is now poised to become a regional economic power, especially
in the automotive industry. Reforms have made Slovakia an
economic success story and captured the attention of
policymakers and businesspeople around the world. Cumulative
foreign direct investment has doubled in the past three years
and American companies are the third largest investors. U.S.
Steel's Kosice operation is the largest economic force in
Slovakia and the well-regarded company won your 2003 Award
for Corporate Excellence. The recent announcement of a half
billion dollar Ford investment, coupled with several other
American companies already in or soon to come to Eastern
Slovakia, means the U.S. has a disproportionately large and
positive presence in this economically depressed region. Our
very strong economic ties will help balance EU influence and
provide a sturdy framework for our overall relationship for
many years to come.


4. (C) Slovakia's deployments to OIF, OEF, and Kosovo
underscore its commitment to the war on terror. Slovakia has
been the world leader per-capita in supplying troops to
peacekeeping missions around the globe and is shifting away
from UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) towards NATO-, EU-,
and U.S.-led operations. This is an expensive decision,
because UN PKOs are often reimbursable, but we support this
shift because it more effectively supports U.S. interests.
Parliament and the GOS are supportive of defense reforms
sought by NATO that call for a smaller, more deployable
military to meet NATO standards. Robust levels of FMF and
IMET (in contrast to the reduced levels of the past two
years) will be required to continue modernization and prevent
the operational costs of the deployments we seek from
providing an excuse for those who wish to derail the reform
effort.


5. (C) Slovakia's transition to a diverse, multicultural
society is not complete. The GOS has made efforts to improve
the lives of its Roma population living in poverty, but
progress has been slow and a comprehensive solution will
likely require the EU to take a major role (which it has been
reluctant to do). Anti-Semitism and xenophobia still persist
in certain elements of Slovak society, although repudiated by
mainstream politicians. The GOS has a good record of
addressing the law enforcement aspects of the trafficking
issue; since neither it nor NGOs have been able to identify
significant numbers of victims, programs of prevention and
protection are not as developed as in neighboring countries.
Corruption continues to be a problem throughout Slovakia and
the broad immunity from conflict of interest and financial
disclosure laws which MPs and judges enjoy exacerbates the
problem. Nevertheless, economic growth and increased western
investment have brought with them higher business standards
and the level of corruption appears to have diminished over
the last several years.

THE CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE
--------------


6. (C) Since 1998, the twin goals of NATO and EU membership
have been the focal points of the Slovak government and
people. They enjoyed broad support across the political
spectrum and were the locomotive of reform. The political
leadership of the country has not come to terms with what it
wants to accomplish as a member of these institutions over
the long haul. Combined with a national character that tends
to view Slovakia and Slovaks as underdogs, this has meant

that Slovakia is hesitant to take a forceful role in most
NATO and EU discussions. Slovak views are reflexively
transatlantic and the U.S. is still viewed as the beacon of
hope that never dimmed during the Communist era. We are thus
in a unique position to encourage some national introspection
and guide the Slovaks to full-fledged membership of NATO and
the EU, in support of U.S. interests.


7. (C) The 2006 elections present a new challenge for the
GOS, and the U.S. Robert Fico appears to have succeeded in
consolidating the left parties, and his SMER party
consistently leads the polls. He continues to defy attempts
to categorize him politically, and eschews concrete policy
positions in favor of "by-the-poll-numbers" populism. The
GOS has the opportunity to counter this if the reforms
produce noticeable improvements in quality of life over the
next two years.


8. (C) It is clear that the Embassy must actively engage the
Slovak public to help them understand what the U.S. -- and
U.S. policy -- are really all about. A major factor in
Slovak perceptions of the United States will be the degree to
which Slovaks believe we are being responsive to their
concerns regarding U.S. visa policy. Within the contraints
of current policy the Embassy must step up its efforts to
encourage Slovak travel to the U.S. and to counter the urban
legends surrounding the "visa issue". This can reduce the
problem but only a change in policy will fix it.


9. (C) This Embassy has received sorely-needed positions
due to your Diplomatic Readiness Initiative. This must be
teamed up with increased funding for security assistance, for
public outreach, for exchanges, and for small grants if we
are to preserve our position and advance our agenda.

THE FOREIGN SERVICE
--------------


10. (U) I would like to highlight the excellent work
conducted by post's talented group of Foreign Service
officers, specialists and nationals. When I arrived here I
expected to find bureaucrats who were entrenched in an
unwieldy system of government inefficiency. Instead, I found
a group of talented and motivated individuals who were
dedicated to their work of carrying out the President's
foreign policy objectives. It has been a privilege and an
honor to work with these people, who have allowed us to
accomplish much during my three very rewarding years as
Ambassador to the Slovak Republic.
WEISER


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