ESTONIA: DHS SECRETARY CHERTOFF'S VWP VISIT TO

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2018
TAGS: CVIS PREL EU RU GG IZ EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA: DHS SECRETARY CHERTOFF'S VWP VISIT TO
TALLINN

Classified by: CDA Karen Decker. Reasons 1.4(b/d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Secretary of Homeland Security Michael
Chertoff visited Tallinn October 29-30 to welcome formally
Estonia into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP),and to
announce that eligible Estonian travelers will be able to
commence visa-free travel to the United States on November
17, 2008. Both in press events and in meetings with the
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, as well as at a
private dinner with the President of Estonia, Secretary
Chertoff called the achievement a milestone in U.S.-
Estonian relations. Secretary Chertoff reiterated in each
meeting and press event the mechanics of VWP travel, and he
pressed for Estonian support of a DHS initiative to
formalize an understanding between the United States and
the EU on the basic principles of personal data sharing.
The Secretary held discussions, often colorful, on a
number of other topics with his Estonian counterparts, most
notably Estonia's relationship with Russia. For his part,
Prime Minister Ansip used Secretary Chertoff's visit to
reiterate that Estonian troops will remain in Afghanistan
and Iraq as long as they are needed. END SUMMARY.

VISA WAIVER PROGRAM -- THE VICTORY LAP


2. (U) In a series of meetings in Tallinn on October 29
with the Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President of
Estonia, Secretary Chertoff congratulated Estonians on the
country's accession to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Both
sides agreed that this achievement -- building from
President Bush's 2006 visit to Tallinn -- was a
significant milestone in relations between the two
countries, and should be seen as the "sweeping away of the
last fragments of the Iron Curtain." In a press conference
following his meeting with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, the
Secretary formally announced that Estonian travelers will
be eligible to commence travel under the Visa Waiver
Program on November 17, 2008.


3. (U) Secretary Chertoff took every opportunity, both
privately and publicly, to clarify that only Estonian
citizens holding biometric passports would be able to
qualify for visa free travel under VWP. He also focused on
the new Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)
requirement, noting that ESTA is now open to Estonian
applicants, and that the ESTA website is available in the
Estonian language. Secretary Chertoff assured his
counterparts that all VWP countries, including the 27
existing member countries, would soon be subject to the
ESTA and biometric passport requirements, thus disposing of
any confusion that Estonia would be joining a two-tier VWP
system that favors existing VWP member countries.


4. (U) No issues of disagreement about Estonia's road to
VWP participation were raised in the meetings, though
Foreign Minister Paet and Prime Minister Ansip both urged
the United States to expand VWP to all EU members as soon
as possible. Both Paet and Ansip were receptive to
Secretary Chertoff's explanation of the limits of U.S.
legislation regarding VWP expansion -- particularly, as
they relate to each candidate country's ability to meet a
visa refusal rate threshold of ten percent, and the ability
of the U.S. to effectively negotiate expansion of VWP in
any manner other than through bilateral agreements with
candidate countries.

THE BEAR IN THE ROOM


5. (C) Estonia's prickly relationship with Russia colored
many of the Secretary's discussions with his Estonian
counterparts on VWP and other issues. Prime Minister Ansip
and President Ilves both noted that the availability of VWP
to Estonian citizens provides another important incentive
for Estonia's more than 100,000 stateless (Russian-
speaking) residents to apply for naturalization as Estonian
citizens. Ansip and Ilves both noted the difficulty of
competing with the Russian government in the struggle
between Russia and Estonia to attract the allegiance of
these stateless residents, suggesting that the Russians
hand out their passports based on political considerations
without subjecting applicants to any substantive process,
while the Estonian naturalization process requires
applicants to show a basic understanding of Estonian
history and language.


6. (C) At a private dinner hosted by President Ilves for

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the delegation, the President expressed dismay at steps
taken by the EU to facilitate Schengen visas for Russian
travelers. He noted that the move simplifies the visa
process for Russians holding regular passports and allows
visa free travel for holders of Russian diplomatic
passports. Ilves questioned the criteria by which the
Russian government determines who qualifies for a
diplomatic passport, suggesting that they are more widely
held than one would expect. (Another dinner guest grumbled
that obtaining a Russian diplomatic passport was about as
difficult as obtaining a flashing blue police light for
one's car.)


7. (C) In connection with Russia's recent invasion of
Georgia, President Ilves expressed pride at Estonia's
public support for the Georgian government and people. He
speculated that Russia realizes that it had gone too far
with the Georgian invasion, resulting in increasing
isolation in the international community.

ESTABLISHING PRINCIPLES ON DATA SHARING WITH THE EU


8. (C) Secretary Chertoff took the opportunity in each of
his closed meetings to ask for Estonia's support for a DHS
proposal to memorialize an understanding between the United
States and the EU relating to principles for the sharing of
personal data. Secretary Chertoff, and DHS Assistant
Secretary for Policy Development Richard Barth, described
the U.S.' ongoing negotiations with the EU in this regard,
and asked for Estonian support for the process. Secretary
Chertoff explained that he is raising this issue with each
of the VWP roadmap governments visited on this European
trip (namely, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia
and Lithuania). Prime Minister Ansip and President Ilves
were both receptive to the idea.

IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN: ESTONIA DOES NOT FALTER


9. (C) FM Paet and PM Ansip both expressed Estonia's pride
at the country's continuing support of coalition and NATO
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. PM Ansip expressed the
GOE's anxiousness to receive a formal invitation from the
Government of Iraq to continue operations, noting that
Estonia will continue to support the United States in both
Iraq and Afghanistan for as long as they are needed and
welcomed. Ansip expressed doubts that the Estonian
parliament would raise any meaningful obstacles to the
country's continued military presence in Iraq under a yet-
to-be-finalized Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).
Ambassador Phillips thanked the Estonians for their
contributions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and noted the
urgency with which the United States is working to finalize
the U.S. SOFA with the Government of Iraq.

MEDIA COVERAGE


10. (U) At Secretary Chertoff's joint press conference with
PM Ansip, questions focused primarily on the mechanics of
Estonia's participation in VWP. Secretary Chertoff took
the opportunity to reiterate key points that have caused
confusion among the Estonian public, including the
biometric passport and ESTA requirements. Secretary
Chertoff asserted that ESTA is not a new visa requirement,
and also reiterated that there will not be a two-tier Visa
Waiver Program with new countries subject to different
requirements than those applicable to existing participant
countries. The Secretary also gave a one-on-one extensive
interview to Postimees, Estonia's most widely-circulated
daily newspaper, in which the mechanics of VWP travel were
reviewed. A full summary of the media coverage of the
Secretary's visit will be reported septel.

DECKER