April 23, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

How black for Ukrainians Friday “brightened” by the evening

The opening of the Greek borders yesterday disappointed Ukrainians at first. It turned out that the entry was still closed for them, since the country was not included in the list of safe in terms of the epidemiological situation. Briefly, this decision was explained by one phrase: “Many infections, few vaccinates.” Details from STRANA.ua.

Since yesterday, the first European country, Greece, has opened for tourists, which has removed entry restrictions for many countries: all from the Schengen area and the EU, the USA and Great Britain, Israel and the UAE, New Zealand and Israel, South Korea and Australia, the Russian Federation. However, Ukrainian tourists in Greece, as it turned out, are not yet expected, even if they are vaccinated or have a negative PCR test.

Initially, it was planned that Ukraine would be on the coveted “green list”, and even vaccination with the Chinese drug CoronaVac, along with vaccinations with the Russian Sputnik, would be recognized as valid. But … At the last moment, Ukraine was excluded from the list of prosperous countries. The Ukrainian Embassy in Greece reported that the decision to open the borders for Ukrainians has not yet been made:

“As of May 14, 2021, the Greek government has not made a decision on the entry of Ukrainian citizens into Greece for tourist purposes!”

Although not so long ago, Minister of Tourism Haris Theocharis claimed that Greece would open its borders to Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, explaining that Ukrainians will need to show a negative PCR test or a vaccination certificate approved by the Ukrainian authorities to enter (by the way, the Ministry of Health promises to issue them only from July 1). Greek journalist Alexis Papachelas shared his vision of the problem with colleagues from STANA.ua:

According to my sources in the government, the Greek authorities believe that there are a lot of infections in Ukraine and they are slowly vaccinating. Then they will look at the situation, perhaps the decision will be revised, and the borders will be opened for Ukrainians. Russians, for example, are allowed in, the vaccination campaign is more active there. Yes, it is not necessary to be vaccinated to enter, the PCR test is quite negative, but when making a decision, the general picture with vaccination in the country was taken into account.

The journalist also noted that the decision on the entry of foreign tourists, along with the list of countries, should be published in the Government Gazette, and while everyone is waiting. So “hope dies last”, the publication of the law should be published just about. Papachelas noted:

If Ukraine appears in the publication, Ukrainians will be officially allowed to enter. The situation is still uncertain.

Ukrainians were disappointed to say the least. Many were already looking forward to a comfortable stay on the seashore and even bought tickets. The shocked tourists were confused, annoyed and no longer believed that it was possible to change the decision of the Greek authorities for the better.

However, by the evening, the situation had changed dramatically, and, in connection with the publication in the Government Gazette of the decision of the Greek government, a new announcement appeared on the website of the Ukrainian Embassy – From May 14, 2021 citizens of Ukraine are allowed to enter Greece subject to certain conditions and requirements.

All is well that ends well. So you can calm down and pack your bags for a trip to Greece, if, of course, you comply with the established entry rules and have the required documents. By the way, it should be borne in mind that the Greek border guards know that in Ukraine, certificates of past illness and tests are sold on the black market. Therefore, the holder of such a document will most likely be sent to take an additional test. It is noted that until the test results are received, the tourist is prohibited from leaving the place of residence indicated in the PLF form.





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