VZCZCXYZ0031
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTH #0496/01 0671456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081456Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8365
INFO RUDKSR/EUCOM PLANS AND ANALYSIS STAFF STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/NAVSUPPACT SOUDA BAY GR PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO BRUSSELS BE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ATHENS 000496 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MARR PREL GR
SUBJECT: 98TH U.S.-GREECE JOINT COMMISSION: MEETING SUMMARY 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY AND COMMENT:  The 98th session of the 
U.S.-Greek Joint Commission dealing with bilateral 
political-military issues, particularly relations between the 
U.S. Souda Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Crete and the 
Government of Greece (GoG), was held in Athens on February 28 
and made progress on a number of significant issues.  On the 
Marathi fuel pipeline, Greek JC Co-Chairman Grigorios 
Vassiloconstandakis said he expected that after a little time 
to get acclimated, the new mayor of Akrotiri was likely to 
give approval to the project.  The Greek-language version of 
the NATO 302 customs form had been finished and sent to Greek 
customs offices, which should begin using it shortly.  The 
GoG was exploring several ways to solve the problem of black 
fuel dye, which has been a nuisance for the U.S. but has cost 
Greece millions of euros in lost revenue.  The GoG believed 
it must submit not only the latest amendment to the ACSA 
agreement to Parliament for ratification but the entire 
agreement; U.S. JC Co-Chairman DCM Thomas Countryman 
expressed concern that Parliamentary inaction or disapproval 
of the ACSA could complicate U.S.-Greek cooperation.  The 
U.S. side briefed on the Military Extraterritorial 
Jurisdiction Act, which the Greek side would study at length. 
 The Greek side also said that a number of NSA requests on 
land-use projects had been approved or were on track to be 
approved.  COMMENT: The U.S. side was very impressed with the 
performance of Greek Co-Chairman Vassiloconstandakis, who has 
proved to be efficient and straightforward.  We hope that his 
performance thus far will continue in future JC cooperation. 
END SUMMARY AND COMMENT. 
 
Marathi Fuel Pipeline 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The existing JP-5 fuel pipeline was installed at NSA 
in 1976 to provide fuel capability for NSA air field 
operations.  Over the last five years, the pipeline has 
experienced a significant internal degradation and is in need 
of replacement.  Replacement of the line has been hampered, 
however, by local officials' refusal to give excavation 
permits.  Vassiloconstandakis said that he had gone to Souda 
the previous week and met the new mayor.  The new mayor had a 
positive attitude toward cooperation with NSA and understood 
the need for a solution to the problem of the fuel pipeline. 
The mayor asked for a little time to get his feet on the 
ground and then would present the issue to the town council, 
which he expected would give its approval.  DCM emphasized 
that the sooner the mayor and council gave approval, the 
sooner the U.S. side could have funding re-instated. 
 
NATO Form 302 ) Status of Greek Translation 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Customs officials have been inconsistent in their 
willingness to accept the standard U.S. version of NATO form 
302, which NSA and other U.S. military operations in Greece 
needed for various import/export purposes. 
Vassiloconstandakis said that a couple of weeks ago the MFA 
had an interagency meeting with the approving authorities 
from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and were told that the 302 
form was finished and already had been sent to customs 
offices all over Greece.  He said that at the beginning it 
might be a little trying but the form,s use should be 
normalized soon.  The DCM asked for a copy of the regulation 
that was sent to the customs offices and Vassiloconstandakis 
gave him the number of the regulation: T851/12/BOO19/19 Feb 
¶2007. 
 
Fuel Color 
---------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) DCM explained that the GoG decision to add black dye 
to marine fuel oil meant that Sealift Vessels could not 
verify the purity of the fuel through visual inspection.  As 
a result, U.S. vessels were buying fuel from suppliers in 
other countries, which was inconvenient for the U.S. but was 
costing Greece millions of euros in loss lost income from oil 
sales, as well as lost purchases by visiting sailors at Greek 
ports.  Vassiloconstandakis said the GoG was considering a 
couple of solutions to the problem.  He said that the U.S. 
ships were also NATO ships and with a ministerial degree, all 
NATO ships could be exempted from adding the black dye to the 
fuel.  Another solution was to use another, non-opaque color, 
which would allow the U.S. Navy to perform its "clear and 
bright" visual tests on Greek marine fuel samples. 
 
Status of ACSA Amendment 
------------------------ 
¶5. (SBU) The Greek Co-Chair said MFA Legal and MoF Legal now 
believe the initial Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement 
(ACSA) signed in 1996, as well as more recently proposed 
amendments, must be ratified by the Parliament.  (NOTE: ACSA 
is a bi-lateral agreement that allows Greece and the United 
States to exchange military logistics services, such as 
transportation and repair.  The original agreement was 
regarded as a working-level document and was never submitted 
to the Greek Parliament for approval.  END COMMENT.)  He 
proposed that a new text identical to the existing ACSA be 
drafted incorporating the proposed amendments and be sent for 
ratification to the Greek Parliament.  The Greek Co-Chair 
believed this was the easiest way to have the ACSA ratified. 
The DCM asked whether we could continue using the old 
agreement until the new agreement was ratified.  The Greek 
Co-Chair said he would ask and inform us. 
Vassiloconstandakis responded negatively to Col May,s 
question whether by ratifying the amendment the Greek 
Parliament would implicitly ratify the underlying agreement 
as well. 
 
DETE Customs Inspection Fees 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The U.S. side explained that the Greek MoF,s March 
2006 decision to collect inspection fees for customs 
inspections was not allowed under the SOFA. 
Vassiloconstandakis said he understood the problem but argued 
that DETE was not a tax but a fee for services rendered.  The 
Greek Co-Chair said perhaps DETE could continue to be levied 
but waived for U.S. forces.  The DCM countered that such a 
procedure would set a negative precedent and seemed 
inconsistent with the SOFA.  The Greek Co-Chair said he 
understood U.S. concern and proposed that the U.S. legal and 
MFA and MoF legal get together and find a solution.  He 
requested the U.S. side send a Dip Note explaining the 
problem. 
 
Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The U.S. side explained that MEJA was U.S. 
legislation permitting the United States to prosecute 
civilians for crimes they committed overseas while 
accompanying the U.S. military and did not alter existing 
multilateral or bilateral arrangements.  The Greek delegation 
said that they did not see any areas for concern but would 
study the issues further before signing a confirmation 
statement. 
 
Land Lease Update 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) NSA needs additional land to increase the stand off 
distance and force protection posture at Souda Bay.  Without 
this addition, NSA cannot utilize 30 dormitory rooms located 
close to the base perimeter.  The U.S. originally requested 
permission to lease land outside of the perimeter fence in 
June 2000 and the request has been taken up at JC meetings 
ever since.  Vassiloconstandakis said he now has information 
that the pertinent Greek authorities finalized their work on 
Dec 15, 2006.  They had finished the expropriation procedures 
and were now in the public-comment phase, waiting for 
possible objections from land-owners.  There were no 
objections so far.  The time that the owners had to object 
was unclear, but less than a year. 
 
Project - New Communication Circuit 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) NSA has had an unforeseen surge in their 
communications requirements and is at maximum, or near 
maximum, capacity on their existing bandwidth.  The Defense 
Information Technology Contracting Organization - Europe 
(DITCO-Europe) wants to increase the telecommunications 
bandwidth at NSA with a 45 MB circuit from Capodichino, 
Italy.  CDR High told the JC that the increase in the 
telecommunication bandwidth would help Souda overcome 
limitations due to the current circuit saturation.  The Greek 
side was in favor of the new Communication circuit and asked 
whether Greek forces at Souda could also take advantage of 
this.  CDR High said yes.  The Greek Co-Chair said he would 
forward the request. 
 
New Project ) New Navy Exchange Construction Project (P-744) 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) NSA wishes to construct a new Navy Exchange (NEX). 
The construction is estimated to cost 9 million dollars and 
must commence soon in order to spend time-sensitive fiscal 
year funds.  The Navy needs the project to increase on-base 
Navy Exchange (NEX) storage capacity and retail floor space. 
The current NEX was designed to service a base population of 
130 military personnel and visiting ships.  The base military 
population is now 387 and the number of ships visiting 
Marathi Piers, including NATO ships, has increased by 75%. 
Vassiloconstandakis said the GoG had approved the project and 
notification was en route. 
 
Approval of Security Department Use of Portable Armory 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) NSA would like to install a portable armory at 
building 56.  The project would allow implementation of 
procedures that are consistent with USN, NATO, and 
host-nation safety and security regulations for the 
protection of weapons and ammunition.  NSA already has 
suitable hardware available, equipped with required intruder 
detection systems.  The new armory would not cause NSA Souda 
Bay to initiate any modifications to their current security 
manning levels, number of weapons, or ammunition levels. 
Vassiloconstandakis said the GoG had approved the project. 
 
Approval to Use Portable Fire Training Trailer 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶12. (SBU) On October 30, 2006, NSA commander Capt. Sale sent 
a letter to the Greek representative at Souda Bay asking  for 
"approval to construct a concrete pad where a mobile Fire 
Department training trailer will be placed."  The Fire 
Department training trailer is a CONEX-sized box that will be 
intentionally set on fire so fire crews can practice 
extinguishing real flames.  A concrete pad is needed so that 
the practice burns can be kept safe.  Without underlying 
containment infrastructure, heat and flames could escape from 
the Fire Dept training trailer and ignite non-intended 
material.  Greek Souda commander Colonel Kontogiannis said he 
would get an answer from HAF in about a week. 
 
NEXT MEETING DATE 
----------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) It was agreed to hold the next JC at Souda Bay in 
July. 
 
MEETING PARTICIPANTS 
-------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Meeting participants included the following: 
 
U.S. Delegation: 
 
Mr. Thomas Countryman, DCM 
Dr. Paul Carter, Chief, Political-Military Affairs 
Col. Steve Boukedes, Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation 
(ODC) 
Lt. Col. Rob May, ODC 
Ms. Cathy Hirt, ODC 
Ms. Alexandra Karavasilli, ODC 
Commander Wayne High, Executive Officer, Souda Bay NSA 
Mr. Bruce Gale, Executive Assistant, Souda Bay NSA 
Lt. Brett Cook, JAG, Souda Bay NSA 
Major Kiriakos Kalogiannis, USMC, ODC 
 
Greek Delegation: 
 
MFA 
 
Mr. Grigorios Vassiloconstandakis, Acting Director A7 
Department 
Ms. Panagiota Konstantinopoulou, A7 Department 
Ms. Jenny Stavridi, Legal Department 
Mr. Michael Stelakatos, Legal Department 
 
HNDGS 
 
Commodore A. Giokas, IRD 
Col. G. Petkos, IRD 
Col. L. Assimakis 
 
Hellenic Navy 
 
Capt. A. Krimiotis, G2 
 
Hellenic Air Force 
Col. I. Kontogiannis, 115th CW (NOTE: Since the JC, 
Kontogiannis has been promoted to Brigadier.) 
Lt. Col. A. Oglanis, C5/III 
Ms. Konstantina Vlachogianni, Civil Engineer, C5/III 
CWO A. Renieris, 115th CW 
RIES