VISA WAIVER PROGRAM: A TOP PRIORITY IN U.S.-GREECE BILATERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000685

SIPDIS
DHS FOR A/S RICHARD BARTH, DR. MARC FREY
AMEMBASSY ANKARA PASS TO AMCONSUL ADANA
AMEMBASSY ASTANA PASS TO USOFFICE ALMATY
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
AMEMBASSY BELGRADE PASS TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
AMEMBASSY HELSINKI PASS TO AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PASS TO AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/04/28
TAGS: PREL PGOV DHS CVIS GR
SUBJECT: VISA WAIVER PROGRAM: A TOP PRIORITY IN U.S.-GREECE BILATERAL
RELATIONS

REF: ATHENS 657

CLASSIFIED BY: Daniel Speckhard, Ambassador, State, AmEmbassy Athens;
REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Greece's entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program
(VWP) is a top priority in U.S.-Greece bilateral relations. As the
U.S. and Greece "reset" relations after several difficult years and
the advent of a new American Administration, Secretary Clinton and
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis have defined VWP for Greece as a
deliverable in the near future. The Greeks, whose low
visa-overstay rate has qualified them for years for participation
in the VWP, are nationally embarrassed by remaining outside what
other "old" EU-15 countries have long enjoyed. They believe the
previous U.S. Administration "moved the goalposts" on their
application and used delays in VWP to "punish" Greece politically.
At the same time, the GOG has been slow to conclude law-enforcement
cooperation agreements required by the U.S. Greek cooperation with
the U.S. on terrorism and serious crime investigations is
excellent, but the government of PM Karamanlis -- which sits on a
razor-thin Parliamentary majority (151 of 300 seats) -- has been
wary of providing political ammunition to the opposition by
publicizing its close cooperation with the U.S. Despite these
difficulties, we have completed negotiations on the HSPD-6
agreement of terrorist information sharing, and the VWP MOU is
almost finished. The agreement on Preventing and Combating Serious
Crime (PCSC) is the last remaining piece of the puzzle. We hope
the upcoming negotiations in Washington will bring the PCSC close
to completion in preparation for Greece's entry into the VWP
mid-summer. END SUMMARY.



GREECE LONG QUALIFIED FOR VWP...

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2. (C) In terms of its visa overstay rate, Greece has qualified for
participation in the VWP for years and was provisionally approved
for VWP in 1999. But problems with the physical security and lack
of biometric features of Greek passports kept Greece out of the
2000 entry of the last of the other "old" EU-15 into the program.
Greece subsequently upgraded its passports but then was caught in
the freeze on expansion of the VWP following 9/11. Greece was at
the top of the VWP list when the U.S. re-engaged on the program,
joining the roadmap process in 2005. Secretary Rice formally
requested DHS to invite Greece to apply in August 2007. In
September 2007, DHS Deputy Secretary Jackson told Greek Ambassador
to Washington Mallias that Greece would be the next country into
the VWP. In December 2007, the official DHS assessment team
visited Athens and positively evaluated Greece for the program.



... BUT DELAYS SLOW PROGRESS

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3. (C) Political and bureaucratic delays, however, slowed Greece's
application. Bush Administration frustration with Greece's veto in
April 2008 of the NATO application of the Republic of Macedonia
over the latter's constitutional name slowed Greece's VWP
consideration. Greece was not amongst the six new European
countries and South Korea that were invited into the VWP in October
2008, a step that was widely interpreted in Greece as political
"punishment."




4. (C) Meanwhile, Greece has had its own delays in signing the
HSPD-6 terrorist information sharing agreement (newly required in

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the spring of 2008) and the PCSC on criminal data sharing (newly
required in the summer of 2008). GOG cooperation and data sharing
with the FBI and other U.S. agencies on terrorist and criminal
cases is excellent. But the center-right government of PM
Karamanlis, which has a razor-thin Parliamentary majority (151 of
200 seats),has been fearful of providing political ammunition to
the opposition by codifying and publicly acknowledging
counter-terrorism and law-enforcement cooperation with the U.S.
Nevertheless, the U.S. and Greece have completed negotiations on
the HSPD-6, while the VWP MOU is almost finished. We believe the
May 3-5 negotiations in Washington on the PCSC will bring that
final document close to completion as well, paving the way for
Greece's entry to the VWP this summer.



NEW ADMINISTRATION, NEW IMPETUS

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5. (C) The new Administration in Washington has signaled its desire
to "reset" relations with Greece and has made Greece's entry into
the VWP a top priority. In conjunction with increased Greek
contributions in Afghanistan, completion of Greece's entry into VWP
is the key U.S. deliverable in stage one of the U.S. effort to
reshape U.S.-Greece bilateral relations, moving Greece from a
reluctant to reliable and proactive partner (reftel).




6. (C) Senior Greek officials all have indicated their willingness
to engage seriously, constructively, and expeditiously to complete
the remaining negotiations. The Embassy will continue to push to
make sure they do their part. Without minimizing the serious
issues at stake, we believe that the upcoming PCSC negotiations in
Washington provide an opportunity to move forward quickly on the
last remaining piece of Greece's VWP puzzle.
SPECKHARD