US embassy cable - 05ATHENS1294

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 001294 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TRA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/10/2015 
TAGS: EAIR, ECON, GR, BATA 
SUBJECT: GREEKS UNDERSTAND DENUNCIATION UNDESIREABLE, BUT 
UNCLEAR ON NEXT STEPS REGARDING BILATERAL AIR TRANSPORT 
AGREEMENT 
 
REF: A. A: ATHENS 1197 
     B. B: STATE 84836 
 
1.  (U) Summary: DCM delivered demarche (reftel B) on May 9, 
regarding the U.S.-Greece Bilateral Air Transport Agreement 
(BATA) to MFA Director General of Economics Chrysanthopoulos. 
 Chrysanthopoulos acknowledged that abrogating the BATA with 
the U.S. would not be desireable, but he reiterated that 
Greece needed some way to deal with the European Commission 
(EC).  The crucial issue for the Greeks appears to be the EC 
position that extending the BATA is the same as renegotiating 
it, thus violating EC regulation 847.  DCM suggested that the 
Greeks discuss this with their EU colleagues to see how other 
member states are dealing with the Commission.  Additionally, 
DCM proposed that the GoG inform the EC of its intention to 
extend, not renegotiate, the BATA in July, maintaining the 
status quo while Washington and Brussels work to resolve 
their differences. End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  On May 9th, DCM delivered the demarche in reftel B 
to MFA Director General of Economics Chrysanthopoulos. 
Chrysanthopoulos had already received a read-out from the 
Greek Embassy in Washington of the meeting between EB DAS 
Byerly and the Greek DCM.  Chrysanthopoulos opened the 
conversation by asking if denouncing the agreement and 
letting it expire weren't the same thing.  DCM noted that, 
while the practical effect might be the same, the political 
message that Greece would be sending in the event of a 
denunciation was considerably worse.  DCM reminded 
Chrysanthopoulos that Greece would be the first EU member to 
take such an action and that May 18 (the deadline the EC has 
set for a GoG response) is only two days before the Greek PM 
is scheduled to meet with POTUS in Washington.  Further, DCM 
observed, Greece has often deflected U.S. requests for 
support on other issues with the statement that they are 
bound by the consensus opinion in Brussels.  How would it 
play in Washington if in this instance the Greeks were 
unhelpful by breaking from the consensus position of EU 
member states?  Chrysanthopoulos agreed to explore other 
options and essentially took immediate denunciation off the 
table. 
 
3.  (U)  Chrysanthopoulos explained that Greece is concerned 
because the GoG has received correspondence from the 
Commission to the effect that any extension of the BATA 
constitutes a new negotiation, and thus violates EC 
regulation 847.  DCM debated this point, noting that in the 
absence of actual negotiations or modifications to the 
agreement, the EC was clearly stretching the definition of 
new negotiations.  DCM then suggested that the GoG inform the 
EC of its intention to extend the BATA in July unchanged, 
thus satisfying the EC's notification requirement, while 
implicitly rejecting the Commission position that an 
extension is the same as a new negotiation.  Chrysanthopoulos 
stated that he was unhappy with the EC position, did not want 
to leave his national carrier with uncertain access to its 
U.S. market, and was concerned with the implications for the 
Greek tourism season coming on.  He concluded the meeting by 
noting that he would be consulting with his colleagues on 
next steps, and would inform us of any further actions. 
 
4.  (C)  Comment:  It was clear that Chrysanthopoulos is 
unhappy being caught between the U.S. and the EC.  The GoG 
position is heavily influenced by the number of times it has 
been hauled in front of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) 
and the Commission on other issues.  Nevertheless, the Greeks 
do not want to harm the tourism industry here and are 
particularly sensitive to any possible disruption in air 
transport services.  Chrysanthopoulos expressed his 
frustration clearly, wondering aloud if the EC truly expected 
him, alone in the EU, to leave his country without an air 
services agreement with the U.S. 
 
5.  (C)  The most encouraging portion of the meeting was that 
the Greeks now appear to have taken denunciation off the 
table.  Whether they will find the strength to stand up to 
the EC and extend the current BATA is unclear, but if they 
accept our advice, they should be able to at least buy enough 
time to explore other options. End comment. 
Ries