US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA1129

C O N F I D E N T I A L  BRATISLAVA 001129 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FOR THE SECRETARY 
ALSO FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE, U/S GROSSMAN, AND EUR 
A/S JONES 
FROM AMBASSADOR WEISER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2024 
TAGS: PREL, ECON, LO 
SUBJECT: AS I DEPART SLOVAKIA 
 
 
Classified By: AMB RONALD WEISER FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
1.  (U) Mr. Secretary, 
 
As I prepare to leave Slovakia, I want to thank you for the 
opportunity to serve as Ambassador and look ahead briefly to 
the future of U.S. relations with Slovakia. 
 
WHERE WE ARE 
------------ 
 
2. (C) When I arrived in Slovakia in November 2001, we faced 
the very real possibility of a return to power of the 
autocratic and corrupt former Prime Minister, Vladimir 
Meciar.  However, by working with our European allies and the 
NGO community, we encouraged high voter turnout.  This 
enabled remnants of the existing pro-democracy ruling 
coalition to form a new center-right coalition with Mikulas 
Dzurinda returning as Prime Minister.  This was the first 
time that a reform government was able to win re-election in 
Central Europe.  The GOS has been able to successfully adopt 
its package of western oriented reforms and Prime Minister 
Dzurinda should have no difficulty serving out his term. 
 
3. (C) Slovakia has been called an investor's paradise and it 
is now poised to become a regional economic power, especially 
in the automotive industry.  Reforms have made Slovakia an 
economic success story and captured the attention of 
policymakers and businesspeople around the world.  Cumulative 
foreign direct investment has doubled in the past three years 
and American companies are the third largest investors.  U.S. 
Steel's Kosice operation is the largest economic force in 
Slovakia and the well-regarded company won your 2003 Award 
for Corporate Excellence.  The recent announcement of a half 
billion dollar Ford investment, coupled with several other 
American companies already in or soon to come to Eastern 
Slovakia, means the U.S. has a disproportionately large and 
positive presence in this economically depressed region.  Our 
very strong economic ties will help balance EU influence and 
provide a sturdy framework for our overall relationship for 
many years to come. 
 
4.  (C) Slovakia's deployments to OIF, OEF, and Kosovo 
underscore its commitment to the war on terror.  Slovakia has 
been the world leader per-capita in supplying troops to 
peacekeeping missions around the globe and is shifting away 
from UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) towards NATO-, EU-, 
and U.S.-led operations.  This is an expensive decision, 
because UN PKOs are often reimbursable, but we support this 
shift because it more effectively supports U.S. interests. 
Parliament and the GOS are supportive of defense reforms 
sought by NATO that call for a smaller, more deployable 
military to meet NATO standards.  Robust levels of FMF and 
IMET (in contrast to the reduced levels of the past two 
years) will be required to continue modernization and prevent 
the operational costs of the deployments we seek from 
providing an excuse for those who wish to derail the reform 
effort. 
 
5. (C) Slovakia's transition to a diverse, multicultural 
society is not complete.  The GOS has made efforts to improve 
the lives of its Roma population living in poverty, but 
progress has been slow and a comprehensive solution will 
likely require the EU to take a major role (which it has been 
reluctant to do).  Anti-Semitism and xenophobia still persist 
in certain elements of Slovak society, although repudiated by 
mainstream politicians.  The GOS has a good record of 
addressing the law enforcement aspects of the trafficking 
issue; since neither it nor NGOs have been able to identify 
significant numbers of victims, programs of prevention and 
protection are not as developed as in neighboring countries. 
Corruption continues to be a problem throughout Slovakia and 
the broad immunity from conflict of interest and financial 
disclosure laws which MPs and judges enjoy exacerbates the 
problem.  Nevertheless, economic growth and increased western 
investment have brought with them higher business standards 
and the level of corruption appears to have diminished over 
the last several years. 
 
THE CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE 
----------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) Since 1998, the twin goals of NATO and EU membership 
have been the focal points of the Slovak government and 
people.  They enjoyed broad support across the political 
spectrum and were the locomotive of reform.  The political 
leadership of the country has not come to terms with what it 
wants to accomplish as a member of these institutions over 
the long haul.  Combined with a national character that tends 
to view Slovakia and Slovaks as underdogs, this has meant 
 
that Slovakia is hesitant to take a forceful role in most 
NATO and EU discussions.  Slovak views are reflexively 
transatlantic and the U.S. is still viewed as the beacon of 
hope that never dimmed during the Communist era.  We are thus 
in a unique position to encourage some national introspection 
and guide the Slovaks to full-fledged membership of NATO and 
the EU, in support of U.S. interests. 
 
7.  (C) The 2006 elections present a new challenge for the 
GOS, and the U.S.  Robert Fico appears to have succeeded in 
consolidating the left parties, and his SMER party 
consistently leads the polls.  He continues to defy attempts 
to categorize him politically, and eschews concrete policy 
positions in favor of "by-the-poll-numbers" populism.  The 
GOS has the opportunity to counter this if the reforms 
produce noticeable improvements in quality of life over the 
next two years. 
 
8.  (C) It is clear that the Embassy must actively engage the 
Slovak public to help them understand what the U.S. -- and 
U.S. policy -- are really all about.  A major factor in 
Slovak perceptions of the United States will be the degree to 
which Slovaks believe we are being responsive to their 
concerns regarding U.S. visa policy.  Within the contraints 
of current policy the Embassy must step up its efforts to 
encourage Slovak travel to the U.S. and to counter the urban 
legends surrounding the "visa issue".  This can reduce the 
problem but only a change in policy will fix it. 
 
9.  (C)  This Embassy has received sorely-needed positions 
due to your Diplomatic Readiness Initiative.  This must be 
teamed up with increased funding for security assistance, for 
public outreach, for exchanges, and for small grants if we 
are to preserve our position and advance our agenda. 
 
THE FOREIGN SERVICE 
------------------- 
 
10.  (U) I would like to highlight the excellent work 
conducted by post's talented group of Foreign Service 
officers, specialists and nationals.  When I arrived here I 
expected to find bureaucrats who were entrenched in an 
unwieldy system of government inefficiency.  Instead, I found 
a group of talented and motivated individuals who were 
dedicated to their work of carrying out the President's 
foreign policy objectives.  It has been a privilege and an 
honor to work with these people, who have allowed us to 
accomplish much during my three very rewarding years as 
Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. 
WEISER 
 
 
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