Athens welcomes EU tourism roadmap for summer

With the summer season around the corner, Greece was generally satisfied on Wednesday with the roadmap outlined by the European Commission regarding the resumption of tourism in the European Union.

"The Greek government welcomes the framework of guidelines and recommendations for tourism and transport presented by the European Commission today," government spokesman Stelios Petsas said in a statement, adding that the formation of a common European framework was not a given. Greece played a key role in shaping the proposals, as it was the first country to raise the issue of tourism in the European public debate.

The EC proposals are nonbinding, and most European governments are pursuing their own customized plans at different speeds.

In a statement, the Commission said that "domestic and intra-EU tourism will prevail in the short term," while non-essential...