Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the Greek Commissioner responsible for sustainable transport and tourism, also offering aninitial assessment of the European portfolio he has been managing for the past year and a half.
As he noted, many dire predictions have not been confirmed so far, citing as an example the prediction by the head of the International Energy Agency, who two months ago had argued that there would be a shortage of aviation fuel within six weeks.
As the Commissioner pointed out, the EU produces 70% of the aviation fuel it needs and has managed to replace supplies from the Middle East with imports from the US and Nigeria, while its emergency reserves remain intact.
Airline flight cancellations, to the extent that they have occurred, are due to rising fuel prices, which, however, have been limited to an increase of approximately 50% compared to the pre-crisis period, whereas in the initial stages they had reached as high as 100%.
He also emphasized that while tourist traffic has been lower than forecast, it is showing a slight increase this year as well, since the decline in demand, mainly from Asia, is being offset by intra-European travel, which in previous years was directed toward countries outside Europe.
The Old Continent is a stable and safe destination, as he pointed out.
He did not fail, however, to note that if the summer passes and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, then there will be very significant global repercussions—not merely inflationary, but also strongly recessionary— while there will also be shortages in a wide range of products in the production chain involving petroleum products, from food—due to the impact on fertilizers—to microchips, for the production of which solar energy is essential.
He also made a special mention of marine fuels, noting that efforts are underway to rationalize the targets set in the past regarding the reduction of pollutants. As he noted, efforts are now underway to coordinate with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to develop global measures, so as not to create a competitiveness issue for European shipping, which, as is well known, is largely composed of Greek shipping.
Regarding Greek aviation and railway safety issues, Mr. Tzitzikostas stated that on the matter of railways (which arose following the tragedy in Tempi), Greece is adhering to the established timelines. His assessment is that by the end of 2026, provided the plan continues to be implemented at the same pace, Greece will have a modern and safe railway system, fully harmonized with European standards.
On the issue of aviation safety, he noted that tenders have been launched for the necessary systems and software, stating that significant progress has been made.