MERCHANT MARINE MINISTER VOULGARAKIS ON MACENDONIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000378

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/11/2018
TAGS: ECON EINV EWWT GR PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: MERCHANT MARINE MINISTER VOULGARAKIS ON MACENDONIA
NAME AND SHIPPING ISSUES

Classified By: Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard for reasons 1.4(b) and (d
)

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Summary
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1. (C) In his March 4 courtesy call on Minister of
Merchant Marine, Aegean and Island Policy George Voulgarakis,
Ambassador Speckhard took the opportunity to press the New
Democracy (ND) party insider for maximum flexibility on the
Macedonia name issue. Voulgarakis told Ambassador Speckhard
he thought agreement on the issue would be very difficult and
potentially destabilizing, alluding that ND,s slim majority
and infighting within PASOK, the main opposition party, could
allow an emergence of the far left (Syrisa/Synaspismos). The
two also touched upon other issues of importance between the
Ministry and the United States, including recent developments
regarding the Liberty Ship museum, port privatization and
security issues, and GoG concerns over lax Turkish border
control.

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The Minister on the Name Issue
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2. (C) Minister Voulgarakis told the Ambassador that he
believes U.S.-Greek relations are entering a crucial period,
and that the resolution of the Macedonian name issue will
play an important role in the evolving U.S.-Greek bilateral
relationship. Ambassador Speckhard agreed, but stressed that
the post-Bucharest summit time period would be equally as
crucial to the relationship. The Ambassador underlined the
importance of negotiating in good faith. He emphasized that
the U.S. has impressed upon Skopje the importance of being
flexible and coming to closure with Greece on this issue, but
said that the U.S. cannot force either Greece or Macedonia to
accept a particular plan.


3. (C) The Ambassador took the opportunity to seek
Voulgarakis,s views on whether there was any flexibility on
the margins of the GoG,s public calls for a universal name.
(Note: Although Voulgarakis enjoys a good relationship with
Prime Minister Karamanlis, his career was somewhat
sidetracked by his removal as the Minister of Public Order
following the Vodafone tapping scandal in 2005.) Voulgarakis
responded that he believes agreement will be very difficult.
Voulgarakis alluded to the fact that PASOK, the main
opposition party, is a bit unstable at the moment, and if the
current ND-led government fell as a result of the name issue,
this could bolster the position of the far left.

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Shipping Ministry Issues: Liberty Ship Museum and Port
Privatization and Security
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4. (SBU) The Minister thanked the Ambassador for hosting the
dinner in December to help raise funding for the Liberty ship
(aka ss Arthur Huddell) museum. The Minister indicated that
he had met with Liberty museum Project Manager Spyros Polemis
the day before (March 3),and that the two had a good
meeting. According to Voulgarakis, since the GoG has
appointed Polemis as the Project Manager, he has the
authority to sign and transmit the project business plan to
MARAD, which he has already done.


5. (SBU) The Ambassador also raised the issue of port
privatization. (Note: Greece is upgrading the security of
its 12 largest ports in order to comply with the
International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) code. The GoG is
undertaking this upgrade through a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) whereby the winning consortium would invest
approximately 342 million euros in the security upgrades and
collect fees for 8 years. Several U.S. companies have
expressed their interest in bidding on this PPP tender.) The
Ambassador indicated the interest of U.S. firms in bidding on
this project, and underscored the importance of creating a
level playing field for all companies. The Ministe stated
that since all stages of the tender mst first go through
Parliament, the process would be transparent and open to all
interested parties.


6. (SBU) The Minister said that he is pleased with the
U.S.-Greek bilateral maritime relationship, and he indicated
that there is very good cooperation on port security issues.
He pointed to the U.S. Container Security Initiative, which
is helping to boost security at Greek ports. The Minister
said that Greece has five years to implement an action plan

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to bring Greek ports into compliance with the ISPS. The main
issue with implementation of the action plan will be raising
the funding necessary to implement it without passing on the
various costs to the end user.

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Illegal Immigration across Turkish Border
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7. (C) The Minister raised the issue of lax Turkish border
control. He indicated that many illegal immigrants cross the
Turkish border into Greece, and that the GoG is concerned
that many of these immigrants could be engaged in issues such
as trafficking and terrorism. The Minister promised to send
to the Ambassador a short paper on this issue that will
include practical ways the U.S. Embassy and the GoG might
work with each other and the Government of Turkey.
SPECKHARD