Laws, Regulations & Policies

A draft bill that sees the full and final opening of ground handling services at Greece’s 34 regional airports is under preparation, Infra­struc­ture, Transports and Networks Minister Dimitris Reppas announced at a recent press conference.

The main objectives of the new zoning law for tourism is to curb the construction of new tourist facilities in congested areas of Greece, Maria Kaltsa, general secretary for planning and urban regeneration, said last month.

“The draft law (on the lifting of cabotage) has terms that are jointly acceptable by all agencies that deal with the cruise issue so that Greece will become a sea cruise center for the entire Mediterranean,” Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping Minister Louka Katseli said after an interministerial meeting on the issue of cabotage.

“Predictions show that over the next two years cruises to the Mediterranean will be the world’s first choice, outshining the half century dominance of cruises to the Caribbean.” This was just one of the conclusions of the report in regards to the lifting of cabotage restrictions in the Greek cruise industry.

The Economy Ministry last month finalized amendments to the austerity tax bill introduced in March that included the revocation of the announced eight percent withholding tax on all service company invoices that exceed 300 euros.

On 7 April the first flight on which Greek citizens were able travel to the United States without a visa left Athens following Greece’s accession to the U.S. Visa Waiver program in March. Greece was formally added to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program on 5 April.

Greece, as a Schengen country, cannot unilaterally abolish visa procedures as this requires a joint decision from all of the Schengen countries, Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said in a recent interview to Turkish daily newspaper Sabah.

The tender procedure for the provision of ground handling services to 34 Greek regional airports has not been completed following a decision made by the Council of State, the Infrastructure, Transports and Networks Ministry said last month.

The government’s effort to solve Greece’s fiscal problems will not be successful if not accompanied by measures to support tourism, President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) Nikos Angelopoulos recently said in a letter to Finance Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou.

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on 9 March announced the designation of Greece as a member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). This decision enables Greek citizens to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.