Carlos Moedas does not believe in specific EU support to the tourism sector

Former European Commissioner Carlos Moedas is peremptory and does not believe that European institutions create a specific support program for the tourism sector, because some EU countries do not want to.

Carlos Coins, who spoke this Tuesday at the third web conference promoted by the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal (CTP), within the 5th Portuguese Tourism Summit, which aims to mark World Tourism Day, defended that Portuguese projects that are candidates for European support should bet on digital and the environment.

The current administrator of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, considered that Europe continues to communicate very poorly with people and that it should communicate more directly with people, because the Member States, normally the information intermediaries, announce support as if it were theirs.

The former European Commissioner for Research, Science and innovation, also talked about the UK leaving the European Union (Brexit): It seems that the probability of leaving without agreement is greater than leaving with agreement. We live in a very difficult period, disse, adding that no agreement, Europe will have to impose tariffs and quotas, and the UK will also react with quotas and tariffs, what he considered “a return to the past.

The British Government rejected the EU's ultimatum (UE) to withdraw a draft law that invalidates certain provisions of the EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol. Neste sentido, the European Commission threatened the UK with legal action, warning that violation of the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement would violate international law, undermine confidence and jeopardize future ongoing negotiations on relations.

Ainda assim, Carlos Moedas is confident of a favorable agreement for both parties. I think Europe is going to cut the deadlines but if the UK passes the law, the deal will get complicated, defended.

In the same web conference, the President of CTP, Francisco Calheiros pointed out that, in relation to tourism, Europe does not have a directive that would make life easier for everyone, maintaining that the decision to create a single currency was the last major step taken by European officials. In response, Carlos Moedas maintained that Europe became the continent of intermediaries, Noting that, in this crisis, Europe itself should have offered monetary aid to small and medium-sized enterprises, instead of countries becoming Brussels intermediaries.

Regarding Brexit, Calheiros expressed concern. If not having any agreement is like having no open skies, since Portugal depends on British tourism to survive, especially Algarve tourism. If they close the air borders with the United Kingdom, the English stop coming to Portugal, recalled.

– We have to be calm and think how, bilaterally, each country can start preparing for negotiations with the UK, and I think Portugal can start doing so without going beyond the European Union, warned the former European Commissioner, additionally adding that tourism, science and trade are three important pillars of trade between Portugal and the United Kingdom.