Ekaterina Zaharieva and EU Foreign Ministers Discuss Options for Facilitating Travel
11 June 2020 News
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva said that lifting travel restrictions in the EU should proceed in a coordinated fashion and in compliance with the European Commission’s package on tourism and transport
Ekaterina Zaharieva was speaking at a video conference organized by Germany with the participation of the foreign ministers and senior diplomats of 13 EU Member States, which was dedicated to the resuming safe and unimpeded travel throughout Europe.
“Bulgaria implements strict rules for ensuring the safety of the tourist sector, which accounts for nearly 13 percent of the country’s economy and generates about 11 percent of its employment,” Ekaterina Zaharieva said. Tourists from 28 countries that are members of the EU and the Schengen Area have been welcome to Bulgaria since 1 June without being subject to a 14-day quarantine, plus visitors from another eight, who would have to spend some time in quarantine. Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister pointed out that the situation with the spread of the coronavirus in the country was stable and Bulgaria was one of the safest tourist destinations at present.
The participants in the meeting discussed the gradual lifting of restrictive measures in their respective countries and agreed that tourist operations require the adoption of a responsible approach involving close coordination between European partner countries. The safety and health of people must be guaranteed during the summer season. Resuming unimpeded travel in the EU should be done by taking into account the situation with COVID-19 in each country and should not hamper efforts to combat the pandemic.
The conditions for retracting official travel warnings include low levels of newly infected individuals in the country of origin and the country of destination. They also concern the concrete measures adopted in the area of spheres of infection control and healthcare, particularly in tourism and travel, based on the European Commission’s recommendations on tourism and transport of 13 May 2020.
The meeting was held on the initiative of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. It was attended by the Foreign Ministers of Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain, as well as Deputy Foreign Ministers of France and Portugal. This was the second video conference organized by Germany for the purpose of discussing the situation with the restrictive measures on travel in the EU. The first one was held on 18 May in connection with the package on tourism and transport presented by the European Commission.