VZCZCXRO2911
OO RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #0141/01 0331532
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 021532Z FEB 09 ZDK ALL DUE NUM SVCS
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3131
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000141 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM KTIP CVIS KJUS GR
SUBJECT: NEW JUSTICE MINISTER SIGNS OFF ON U.S.-EU MUTUAL 
LEGAL ASSISTANCE AND EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS 
 
REF: A. ATHENS 19 
     ¶B. 08 ATHENS 1455 
 
ATHENS 00000141  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel V. Speckhard for reasons 1.4(b) & (d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (C) During an introductory call by the Ambassador January 
27, new Greek Justice Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed that 
he had recently signed out to Parliament a legislative 
package for Greek ratification of the U.S.-EU Mutual Legal 
Assistance (MLA) and Extradition agreements.  Securing 
ratification by Greece -- which negotiated the agreements as 
EU president in 2003 but is one of four EU members yet to 
ratify them -- has been a longstanding goal of the Embassy 
(reftels).  We understand the parliamentary leadership is 
prepared to complete ratification expeditiously, and Dendias 
said the government was making plans to deal with anticipated 
criticism that the agreements put an undue burden on Gr%%!%QQQ 
T(e Ambassador and Dendias !#Q!%$ !* Q(% (%Q!QQa"!e of 
completing the requ!Q%EdQQ "%R Q(%V!Q!Taiver Program 
(VWP),  &$ D$F$!!Q Q!!$ (% QQQdd be happy to provide c#%%%QTAQQQQb Q(QE"QQQ!Qosal for an agreement /" PQ%Q$FQa"! "$QQQ@!%ating Serious Crime (PCSQQ !QQQa"  Q!Q) QQ$ but he 
could not yet gi"! ! Q)metable for the Greek response. 
Dendias and the Ambassador also agreed on importance of 
combating trafficking in persons (TIP), and Dendias 
acknowledged the need for better data collection in Greek law 
enforcement, including on TIP cases.  Dendias agreed to look 
into the case of a U.S. citizen who had fled to Greece to 
avoid criminal sentencing.  End Summary. 
 
MLA on the Move 
--------------- 
¶2. (C) The Ambassador asked Dendias about a report we had 
recently heard that the U.S.-EU MLA and Extradition 
agreements were now with Parliament.  Dendias confirmed this 
news, saying he had approved the legislative package for the 
agreements a few days earlier.  The Ambassador thanked him 
for his efforts.  (Note: We have urged Dendias's predecessor 
and other Greek officials to move forward on ratification for 
at least the past year.  It is encouraging that Dendias acted 
so quickly after becoming Minister on January 8.  Parliament 
President Sioufas has told us separately that Parliament was 
prepared to move quickly once it received the proposal from 
the Justice Ministry.  In a January 30 meeting, DCM 
reiterated to Sioufas the need to move quickly.  End Note.) 
 
¶3. (C) Himself an MP, Dendias said he thought there might be 
some questions in Parliament about whether the agreement is 
fair to Greece, because it applies to crimes with a sentence 
of one year or more.  He said Greek law appears on paper to 
have much heavier sentences for crimes than other European 
countries, although in practice judges eliminate this 
disparity by giving shorter sentences than the law specifies. 
 Therefore, he said, minor crimes in Greece might fall under 
the agreement, while such crimes elsewhere in Europe would 
not.  Nevertheless, Dendias said the Greek government was 
preparing to deal with this argument, and he did not think it 
would be a major threat to the agreement. 
 
Visa Waiver Program and Data Sharing 
------------------------------------ 
¶4. (C) The Ambassador urged Dendias to provide Greek feedback 
on the PCSC agreement on criminal data sharing, noting the 
agreement was a major outstanding item for Greece to join 
VWP.  Dendias said joining VWP would have a huge impact on 
Greek public opinion, encouraging a more positive view of the 
U.S. as the new U.S. administration gets started.  He said 
the Greek government was working on its response to the PCSC 
proposal, but he could not give a timetable or any feedback 
yet.  He said the government had to proceed "carefully" in 
order to ensure that the agreement has the support to pass 
parliament.  The Ambassador said it was important for the 
public to understand the data sharing accurately -- that it 
would be no more invasive of privacy than information credit 
card companies or other businesses process on a regular 
basis.  Dendias agreed and indicated the government wanted to 
have a well-prepared roll-out plan. 
 
¶5. (C) Dendias added that the new U.S. administration was 
very popular in Greece, as was the President's announcement 
about the closure of Guantanamo prison, and this would make 
it easier to get public support in Greece for data sharing 
with the U.S.  Dendias recalled that he had in the past 
defended the U.S. against its critics by citing the U.S. 
Supreme Court's ruling that Guantanamo detainees were 
eligible for judicial review of their detention.  Dendias 
said he thought that ruling was very significant, but it was 
largely unnoticed by European audiences.  He said that the 
 
ATHENS 00000141  002.5 OF 002 
 
SUBJECT: NEW JUQTHAA DHBAQPQQ@AAQP ABF ON U.S.-EU MUTUAL 
LEGA@ AQH@PAa 
collection on TIP cases was not consistent from year to year. 
 He urged Dendias to find ways our two countries could work 
together to improve implementation of anti-trafficking laws 
and to collect meaningful data.  Dendias said he "couldn't 
agree more" on the importance of fighting TIP, noting that he 
had done work on the subject as an MP in the Parliamentary 
Assembly of the Council of Europe.  He said he could easily 
believe that data collection on TIP had been a problem in the 
past, noting that the Greek government and law enforcement 
have never been as comfortable with technology as they should 
be.  He said there was an existing plan for expanded 
computerization, but he added -- noting that he found no 
Internet connection in his office when he started the job -- 
that he had his doubts it was being implemented well.  He 
said he would look into developing new plans to improve data 
collection on TIP and other crimes. 
 
Haligiannis Extradition Case 
---------------------------- 
¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador raised the case of a U.S. citizen, 
Evangelos Haligiannis, who had fled the U.S. to Greece to 
avoid sentencing for defrauding U.S. and Greek citizens in 
financial schemes, and had subsequently acquired a Greek 
passport.  The Ambassador noted that we are continuing to 
seek his extradition.  The Ambassador expressed concern that 
Haligiannis, who we understand was recently released from 
custody in Crete pending a Greek trial on similar charges, 
was a flight risk.  The Ambassador agreed to provide Dendias 
with more information on the case and asked Dendias to 
continue following the case. 
 
Bio Notes 
--------- 
¶8. (C) Dendias is the sole New Democracy MP from the island 
of Corfu, which also has one MP each from the main opposition 
party PASOK and the Communist Party.  He was born in Corfu, 
although he was raised in Athens.  His wife and two children 
(ages 16 and 8) still live in Corfu, and Dendias confided 
that he is wrestling with the question of whether to bring 
them to Athens now that he has assumed ministerial duties 
that will keep him in the capital much more than before. 
After noting that he was holding a place in Athens University 
for his son (his right as an alumnus) he lamented that 
education in Greece had deteriorated at all schools since his 
days as a student.  He said the New Democracy government had 
missed a rare chance to reform the education system earlier 
in its tenure "when it had the strength," and that now he was 
unsure when it would be possible to deal with the systemic 
problems in Greek education. 
 
SPECKHARD