GREEKS UNDERSTAND DENUNCIATION UNDESIREABLE, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 001294

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/TRA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2015
TAGS: EAIR ECON GR BATA
SUBJECT: GREEKS UNDERSTAND DENUNCIATION UNDESIREABLE, BUT
UNCLEAR ON NEXT STEPS REGARDING BILATERAL AIR TRANSPORT
AGREEMENT

REF: A. A: ATHENS 1197

B. B: STATE 84836


1. (U) Summary: DCM delivered demarche (reftel B) on May 9,
regarding the U.S.-Greece Bilateral Air Transport Agreement
(BATA) to MFA Director General of Economics Chrysanthopoulos.
Chrysanthopoulos acknowledged that abrogating the BATA with
the U.S. would not be desireable, but he reiterated that
Greece needed some way to deal with the European Commission
(EC). The crucial issue for the Greeks appears to be the EC
position that extending the BATA is the same as renegotiating
it, thus violating EC regulation 847. DCM suggested that the
Greeks discuss this with their EU colleagues to see how other
member states are dealing with the Commission. Additionally,
DCM proposed that the GoG inform the EC of its intention to
extend, not renegotiate, the BATA in July, maintaining the
status quo while Washington and Brussels work to resolve
their differences. End summary.


2. (U) On May 9th, DCM delivered the demarche in reftel B
to MFA Director General of Economics Chrysanthopoulos.
Chrysanthopoulos had already received a read-out from the
Greek Embassy in Washington of the meeting between EB DAS
Byerly and the Greek DCM. Chrysanthopoulos opened the
conversation by asking if denouncing the agreement and
letting it expire weren't the same thing. DCM noted that,
while the practical effect might be the same, the political
message that Greece would be sending in the event of a
denunciation was considerably worse. DCM reminded
Chrysanthopoulos that Greece would be the first EU member to
take such an action and that May 18 (the deadline the EC has
set for a GoG response) is only two days before the Greek PM
is scheduled to meet with POTUS in Washington. Further, DCM
observed, Greece has often deflected U.S. requests for
support on other issues with the statement that they are
bound by the consensus opinion in Brussels. How would it
play in Washington if in this instance the Greeks were
unhelpful by breaking from the consensus position of EU
member states? Chrysanthopoulos agreed to explore other
options and essentially took immediate denunciation off the
table.


3. (U) Chrysanthopoulos explained that Greece is concerned
because the GoG has received correspondence from the
Commission to the effect that any extension of the BATA
constitutes a new negotiation, and thus violates EC
regulation 847. DCM debated this point, noting that in the
absence of actual negotiations or modifications to the
agreement, the EC was clearly stretching the definition of
new negotiations. DCM then suggested that the GoG inform the
EC of its intention to extend the BATA in July unchanged,
thus satisfying the EC's notification requirement, while
implicitly rejecting the Commission position that an
extension is the same as a new negotiation. Chrysanthopoulos
stated that he was unhappy with the EC position, did not want
to leave his national carrier with uncertain access to its
U.S. market, and was concerned with the implications for the
Greek tourism season coming on. He concluded the meeting by
noting that he would be consulting with his colleagues on
next steps, and would inform us of any further actions.


4. (C) Comment: It was clear that Chrysanthopoulos is
unhappy being caught between the U.S. and the EC. The GoG
position is heavily influenced by the number of times it has
been hauled in front of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)
and the Commission on other issues. Nevertheless, the Greeks
do not want to harm the tourism industry here and are
particularly sensitive to any possible disruption in air
transport services. Chrysanthopoulos expressed his
frustration clearly, wondering aloud if the EC truly expected
him, alone in the EU, to leave his country without an air
services agreement with the U.S.


5. (C) The most encouraging portion of the meeting was that
the Greeks now appear to have taken denunciation off the
table. Whether they will find the strength to stand up to
the EC and extend the current BATA is unclear, but if they
accept our advice, they should be able to at least buy enough
time to explore other options. End comment.
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