Portugal proposes resuming travel within EU ‘as soon as possible’ to save jobs

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Portugal, which presides over the EU in the first semester of 2021, is planning to table a proposal for the resumption of the freedom of movement within the European Union as soon as possible, Portuguese Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition Pedro Siza Vieira pointed out.

Vieira’s comments came during the European Union ministers’ meeting, which was held to discuss the current tourism situation.

The Portuguese minister further added that the measures would be proposed for the short, medium, and long terms in an effort to resume movement within the EU within a short period.

According to Vieira, the recently discussed measures would also support millions of companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in order to resolve solvency problems and help the tourism industry “transform itself to the new paradigm of sustainability, digital and training of workers.”

Portugal’s Minister of State for the Economy and Digital Transition stressed the need to come up with “clear ideas” to help a sector “that is being most impacted by restrictive measures.”

The Portuguese government emphasized that the European Union ministers’ meeting, held on Monday, was intended for the European Union Member States to find new ways to restore confidence among travelers.

EU’s commissioner responsible for the internal market, Thierry Breton, the World Travel and Tourism Council president, Gloria Guevara Manzo, as well as the secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, also attended the informal meeting.

The attempts to restore travel within the EU recently have intensified, amid an increase in the number of vaccinated Europeans and the number of EU countries granting vaccine certificates on the rise.

An EU official, back in April last year, said that among two essential requirements set to become mandatory soon would be the testing process and the launching of the vaccination passports. Such requirements soon began to be discussed by many countries worldwide.

As for the launching of a vaccination certificate that would ease travel and help revive the tourism sector, Portugal also followed the example of some EU countries and supported the idea which, according to some governments, would bring many facilities for countries.

Portugal’s Health Minister Marta Temido has stressed that such a certificate which will be presented this month by the European Commission, “will allow resuming normality in the daily lives of European citizens in the best possible conditions.”

“Today, more than ever, we need a common approach to the safe movement of our citizens,” Temido pointed out.

On Monday, the European Commission’s Vice-President Margaritis Schinas said that the EC would present a legislative proposal to initiate a free-transit digital passport to permit EU citizens to travel again, especially during the summer, amid the Coronavirus pandemic situation.

Schinas stressed that the proposal would be presented by the European Union executive on March 17th.