Mitsotakis announces recovery package, opens resorts 15 June, international travel 1 July

The government's plan for the economic repercussions of the coronavirus epidemic will focus on retaining jobs, reducing taxes and supporting businesses, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during a televised address on Wednesday.

The price tag of state measures to shore up the economy will total 24 billion euros, the prime minister said.

The cost of new measures announced today by the PM is estimated at seven billion euros.

The tourist season will officially open on June 15.

Greek tourism will once again connect with the international market while the launch of direct flights from abroad on 1 July.

Athens is hoping that its pristine public health profile will attract international tourists and the government decided to reject proposals for the pre-departure Covid-19 tests for tourists travelling to Greece.

«The pandemic interrupted the country's impetus at a time when it was entering a phase of growth,» Mitsotakis said, noting that the measures detailed by ministers following his announcement provided a bridge to the next phase, in order to lead to growth again in 2021.

Protecting jobs

Through a program called SYN-ERGASIA [cooperation] to help employees keep their jobs, businesses that have been hardest hit will be allowed to reduce work shifts without laying off staff in order to get back on their feet again.

Staff's salaries and insurance payments will not change.

The program will be funded with one billion euros by the EU's "Support to Mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE)" programme.

«I had the dilemma of whether to issue unemployment cheques or to establish measures to support employment and I chose the latter," the PM underlined.

He also announced,...