US embassy cable - 05ATHENS482

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2015 
TAGS: PREL, EU, GR, INTERNAL 
SUBJECT: GREECE: MARCH DATE FOR EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION VOTE; 
IMMIGRATION REFORM IN THE WORKS 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES P. RIES FOR REASONS 1.4(B/D) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary.  The Greek government will submit the 
European Constitution to parliament for ratification in 
March, Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos told Ambassador 
February 16.  The government also plans to introduce 
immigration reform legislation that would regularize the 
status of thousands of illegal migrants and, over time, 
encourage many to return to their home countries.  End 
Summary. 
 
Parliament to Bless EU Constitution in March 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (C)  The Greek government will submit the European 
constitution to parliament for ratification in March, 
Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos told Ambassador 
February 16.  Under Greek law, parliamentary approval is all 
that is needed to ratify the constitution.  Pavlopoulos 
claimed this would make Greece the first EU member to ratify 
the treaty.  (Note: He may have been thinking in terms of the 
pre-enlargement EU; we understand Hungary and Lithuania have 
already done so.)  With no tradition of Euroskepticism in 
Greece and little domestic opposition to the constitution, 
Pavlopoulos said, the parliament should approve the 
constitution without controversy.  Of the parties represented 
in parliament, only the small Communist Party of Greece 
opposes the EU constitution.  The government,s main reason 
for moving quickly was concern that, if ratification were 
pushed into the summer or later, the vote might become 
entangled with Turkey,s EU accession talks set to begin in 
October. 
 
Major Immigration Reform in the Works 
------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C)  Pavlopoulos noted that the government planned to 
introduce immigration reform legislation within two weeks, in 
an effort to address what he termed an anarchic situation in 
the country.  The draft legislation was designed to give the 
government greater control over aliens entering the country 
and to prevent visitors from changing status and seeking 
employment after entry.  The law would also unify Greece,s 
residence and work permits, ending the current situation, in 
which decisions over work and residence permits are made 
separately (and by regional or municipal authorities). 
Naturalization rules would be simplified, he said, making it 
easier for non-native Greeks to obtain citizenship. 
 
4.  (C)  Finally, the legislation also would implement the 
EU,s voluntary repatriation program, called Aeneas, offering 
illegal migrants start up money to return to their home 
countries.  Pavlopoulos said the government,s expectations 
for the program were modest in the short term, but the 
longer-term outlook was good.  Greek efforts to improve the 
economic situation in supply countries, particularly Albania, 
as well as additional measures to increase the incentives to 
return, would hopefully lead to more voluntary repatriations 
over time. 
 
RIES