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Viewing cable 09ATHENS685, VISA WAIVER PROGRAM: A TOP PRIORITY IN U.S.-GREECE BILATERAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09ATHENS685 2009-04-29 05:36 2011-05-17 08:00 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Athens
Appears in these articles:
http://www.tanea.gr
VZCZCXRO1574
OO RUEHAG RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #0685/01 1181530
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 290536Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0121
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHMFITT/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0019
RHMFISS/DHS IP BP WASH DC
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS
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... 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
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 
 
---------------------------- 
 
 
 
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 
 
ATHENS 00000685  002 OF 002 
 
 
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 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
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