During an interview with Bloomberg, Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his belief that by April the covid-19 situation in the country will be better, due to the rollout of the vaccination programme.
He noted that Greece has done better than other countries in handling the pandemic and expressed his optimism for a better summer in terms of tourism.
The PM also reiterated his proposal for the Covid-19 vaccination certificate which several EU member states are interested in and expressed hope of an eventual European agreement on this.
“A vaccination certificate will allow you to enter Greece, without having to show a negative Covid test or undergo quarantine restrictions. And we intend to continue in the same context in which we agreed in principle with Israel. This vaccination certificate will be accepted, with the aim of facilitating travel from Israel to Greece,” he said.
“People will want to travel. For me it does not make sense not to facilitate travel – to the extent of course that we will feel comfortable welcoming those who have been vaccinated.
“For those who have not been vaccinated, the most likely scenario is that they will be asked for some form of negative test. But for those who have been vaccinated, we want to make it as easy as possible for them to travel to Greece. I see that many EU Member States are interested in further exploring this idea. And I think the reason is that their citizens want to travel and they want to make travel as easy as possible, especially during the summer holidays,” he added.
When asked if the current lockdown would be the last, the PM responded that he “definitely hopes so.”
As for the country’s attraction to foreign investors, Mitsotakis highlighted that the country has restored its credibility abroad. Proof is Greece’s ability to borrow with low interest rates, and the approval to pay off early a major part of its debt to the International Monetary Fund amounting to €3.3 billion of a total €5.1 billion.
On the topic of Turkey, he said 2020 was a difficult year, but there have been some improvements.
“We have seen some months of lower intensity, which is certainly welcome, and I hope we continue on this path. Based on geography, we will always be neighbours with Turkey. There have been periods of very good relations, despite the fact that some issues have not been resolved,” he continued.
Additionally, he explained on Bloomberg, Greece continues to boost its alliances with countries that respect international law and to prove that differences in maritime zones may be resolved amicably, as they have been in the bilateral agreements with Italy and Egypt.
*More on GCT: Greek PM on Bloomberg: 2021 is a year of strong recovery
