SCENE SETTER FOR A/S MAURA HARTY'S VILNIUS VISIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 VILNIUS 000087 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR CA A/S MAURA HARTY FROM AMBASSADOR MULL AMCONSUL FRANKFURT FOR SALLY LINDOVER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL CMGT CVIS CASC ASEC LH SUBJECT: SCENE SETTER FOR A/S MAURA HARTY'S VILNIUS VISIT REF: A. 2004 VILNIUS 382 ¶B. 2004 VILNIUS 867 ¶C. 2004 VILNIUS 1323 ¶D. 2004 VILNIUS 1548 ¶E. 2004 VILNIUS 1351 ¶F. 2004 VILNIUS 1427 ¶G. 2004 VILNIUS 1493 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION: Maura, it is an honor and delight to welcome you back to Lithuania, where we continue to benefit from your outstanding work as one of this Mission's "founding mothers." Since your last visit, Lithuania has matured into an important partner for the U.S., with recent commitments to keep 100-plus troops on the ground in Iraq at least through this year; to lead an open-ended provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan; and to promote democracy in other post-Soviet societies. Its economy remains one of the fastest growing in Europe. Despite economic growth at home, however, the interest of many Lithuanians in working abroad continues to cloud their eligibility for visas and contributes to a refusal rate of about 30 percent. Disappointment about this is a prominent feature of all our interactions with the Lithuanian public, and political leaders sometimes signal it could hamper their ability to remain so pro-U.S. Your visit will provide an excellent example of our commitment to dialogue on an issue that is painful for some Lithuanians, while affording an opportunity to underscore the legal constraints that bind our visa policies. ¶2. (U) I'm especially eager to introduce you to our outstanding entry-level and foreign service national staff in Vilnius, who are collectively the best I've seen in my career. They are looking forward to hearing your mentoring thoughts and advice, both at the lunch for entry-level personnel and at our Embassy town hall meeting. END SUMMARY. -------------- Political/Economic Review -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Following the impeachment of former President Paksas in April 2004 (ref A),Lithuanian voters elected former and now current President Adamkus to become head of state in June ¶2004. He was sworn in July 2004 (ref B),and remains an important anchor of Lithuania's strong pro-U.S. stance. A former American citizen and regional director of the EPA for the Midwest for many years, Adamkus is particularly grateful for CA's success in breaking free his social security pension, which he earned from his many years working in the U.S. Adamkus remains the most popular political figure in Lithuania - a status which his high profile role in mediating the recent Ukraine crisis only bolstered. ¶4. (SBU) Parliamentary (Seimas) elections occurred in October 2004, with the upstart Labor Party, led by millionaire Viktor Uspaskich, securing the most seats in the Seimas. Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas successfully forged a coalition with the Uspaskich-led Labor Party (ref C). Other coalition partners include Parliamentary Speaker Arturas Paulauskas's New Union and Kazimiera Prunskiene's Peasant Party. President Adamkus has taken an active role in the formation of the cabinet, forcing the Social Democrats and Labor to pull back several of their more controversial candidates. Parliament confirmed Brazauskas as PM on November 25, and confirmed the remaining members of the cabinet on December 13. FM Antanas Valionis remains in the top spot at the MFA, although Social Democrat Gediminas Kirkilas replaced Defense Minister Linas Linkevicius. Minister of Interior Gintaras Furmanavicius, who has supervisory responsibility for migration issues, has signaled his eagerness to work closely with us in resolving the bureaucratic difficulties American residents face here. Although controversy clouded his appointment, with allegations swirling of his business dealings with an accused embezzler, Lithuania's investigative service has cleared Furmanavicius and there has been no additional evidence to substantiate these allegations (ref D). ¶5. (U) Lithuania boasts the distinction of being one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. Last year, the country experienced 9% GDP growth, driven by domestic consumption and investment. The growth rate slowed to 6.8% during the first three quarters of 2004, largely due to external factors, lack of investment, and a shortage of qualified labor, a majority of which has headed westward in search of higher paying jobs. Lithuania's economy still has a lot of catching up to do, since Lithuania's per capita GDP, at 46% of the EU average in 2003, ranks second to last among new EU members. Substantial inflows of capital from EU structural funds (over USD 1 billion over the next three years) should help boost the economy further. The GOL also hopes to encourage additional foreign direct investment. The unemployment rate is high but consistently falling, dropping to 11.3% in the third quarter of 2004. Lithuania joined the ERM II mechanism last year and already meets the EU Stability pact criteria for the introduction of the euro in 2007. -------------- Lithuania Active in the "Near Abroad" -------------- ¶6. (U) Lithuania's accession to the European Union and NATO opened new opportunities for the GOL to engage with its neighbors to the east, most notably in the context of the EU's "New Neighborhood" policy. Leveraging its historical experience as part of the Soviet Union, Lithuania seeks to assist former Soviet states transition to democracy and integrate into European institutions such as the EU and NATO. -------------- Lithuanian-Russian Relations -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Lithuania's relations with Russia have cooled over the past few months, but remain driven by a pragmatic recognition that the country needs to work with Russia on a broad range of issues. The NATO air-policing mission is of critical importance to the GOL, which remains concerned about Russian aspirations to disrupt NATO relations with its newest members (ref D). Russia continues to complain about administrative difficulties with regards to Kaliningrad transit procedures, while the GOL believes that the Russians exaggerate and exploit any problems in an attempt to enlist the support of other EU member states for a Russian "free transit corridor" to/from Kaliningrad (ref E). The GOL is urging the EU to hold a firmer line with Russia and is concerned that other EU capitals may manipulate elements of the Lithuanian-Russian relationship beyond EU and Lithuanian control. Most recently, Russian attempts to establish May 9 as an internationally recognized day to commemorate the end of World War II have disturbed the Lithuanians, since May 9 marked the beginning of the Soviet occupation of the Baltics (ref F). Adamkus and the GOL are considering how best to respond to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to the Lithuanian President to participate in May 9 celebrations in Moscow. -------------- Consular Issues -------------- ¶8. (U) Since Lithuania regained its independence in 1991, over 500,000 Lithuanians have reportedly left the country, many of them to the United States, where a sizeable Lithuanian community already exists. The Lithuanian government does little to discourage this exodus, as many politicians are convinced that the majority of Lithuanians will eventually return, betterand richer for their time spent overseas. While the Lithuanian economy continues to grow rapidly, not all groups benefit equally from the growth. This factor, and the fact that most young Lithuanians desire to work abroad despite their country's excellent growth prospects, contribute to continuing emigration. These factors will continue to drive post's NIV work, and refusal rate, in the future. Immigration to Lithuania from both the EU and non-EU world, for both legitimate and illegitimate reasons, will continue to increase. Significant numbers of illegal aliens continue to be apprehended at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and in the port of Klaipeda. The influx of non-Lithuanians has already led to a small increase in the number of TCN applicants seen at post. This number will most likely increase further over the next few years and will require greater vigilance in the screening of NIV applications. ¶9. (U) NIV applications seem to have finally leveled off, after a continuous decline since their peak in 2000. That said, our NIV workload remains high. While EU membership has opened up a new avenue for economic migrants seeking work, Lithuanians continue to look to the United States for illegal employment (ref G). Unfortunately, Lithuania's EU accession has made it more difficult for us to ascertain a visa applicant's periods of stay in the United States as border officials no longer stamp the passports of returning Lithuanians. As we still do not have easy and quick access to DHS entry/exit records, Lithuanian entry stamps are often our only sure means of detecting signs of illegal employment in the United States, such as overstays or repeated six-month stays. ¶10. (SBU) Despite the ongoing problem of visa abuse by Lithuanian visitors, complaints about our visa system are consistently the most prominent feature of all our contacts with the Lithuanian public. Lithuanian political leaders repeatedly note that pressure on this issue could ultimately jeopardize the warmly pro-U.S. policies they pursue, and they consistently press for Lithuania's accession to the Visa Waiver Program. The request to become a VWP country is a standard GOL talking point, although most officials will relent when presented with the U.S. legal requirements and the cold, hard numbers of Lithuania's B1/B2 refusal and overstay rate. Lithuanian officials, particularly in the MFA's Consular Department, will frequently admit in private that VWP is not a realistic short-term goal. ¶11. (U) Lithuania has one of the largest per-capita participation rates in the Work and Travel program in Eastern Europe. Post processed 2,100 visas for the program in FY2004, approximately 27 percent of all visas issued by post in that year. This is a decrease from last year's totals, due to competition from programs in the U.K. Organizers are hoping to submit at least as many Work and Travel applicants in 2005. ¶12. (U) Fraud continues to present a challenge, including forged Burroughs and Teslin foil visas and imposter travelers. There are a number of ongoing investigations in Lithuania's second city of Kaunas involving fraudulent documents and imposter passports and visas, with links to counterfeit currency. Our Consular section works closely with our RSO and local authorities on these investigations. The level and increasing sophistication of fraud continues to be the most demanding aspect of NIV work in Lithuania. We are continually frustrated that these same rings after their arrests are quickly back in business in some modified form. The increased time spent in interviewing to screen for fraud, new processing requirements, and the increase in the number of applicants seen at post who were either refused change of status by DHS, turned around or deported due to prior violations, or who have serious hits in CLASS have increased not only the complexity of the visa process but also the overall time necessary to handle post's relatively small NIV workload. -------------- --- ACS: Increasing with the popularity of Lithuania -------------- --- ¶13. (U) Now that Lithuania is officially part of the European Union, but with a cost of living still far below its Western neighbors, tourism will continue to increase. More American visitors, coupled with a likely increase in the number of people who choose to settle in Lithuania, will further increase the demand for section services, from routine notarials to jail visits. The increase in Americans residing in Lithuania has exposed a source of constant aggravation for American citizens - obtaining a residency permit. The opaque and inconsistent requirements to obtain a residency permit have resulted in many American residents running afoul of the Migration Office, including several Fulbright scholars and students. We expect recent meetings with the Minister of Interior and the head of the Migration Office to begin alleviating some of the hang-ups the U.S. Fulbright scholars and students have faced. We will ask you to work this issue during your meeting at the Foreign Ministry. -------------- Preview of Your Visit -------------- ¶14. (U) While your visit to Vilnius will be short, I believe your program will send an important signal of our openness to dialogue on the painful visa question, while allowing us an important opportunity to note the constraints which bind our policies. You will meet with Vaidotas Verba, Director of the Consular Department, who will be keen to highlight our excellent bilateral cooperation and discuss areas of future cooperation. As requested, you will meet our Entry Level staff over lunch at the DCM's residence. These great new officers are looking forward to hearing your perspective on the consular function, the latest news from the Department and, above all, your advice on life in the Foreign Service, themes on which you could continue at a town hall meeting with Embassy staff. I will then host a small dinner for you with Front Office and Consular Section staff. On a professional and personal level, my colleagues and I are very much looking forward to your visit. MULL