Q. Thank you Commissioner for join us. I understand from you earlier answers that you had a talk with the State Councillor and Minister for Public Security Guo Shengkun. What was the primary topic of your discussion?
DA – We met yesterday. It was a friendly and cordial discussion. We covered a large spectrum of issues, but we focused mainly on the visa facilitation dialog that was launched actually yesterday. We are working very close with China, at all levels. China for us is a strategic partner and EU and China can do more in the future in addressing challenging issues like security and migration. So I can tell you that I am really happy for the outcome of this discussion and definitely we can do more in the future.
Q. Speaking of Migration, you told me afterwards that the rubber boats that are used by the smuggling networks in Mediterranean are fabricated somewhere in China, and there are exported to the countries in Asia and there are used by them. Do you really believe that this is one of the root causes of the migrations crisis?
DA – It is not a root cause but it facilitates the criminal networks to better do there very criminal work. So we have to cooperate in order to track down all these networks and dismantle them. Yes we have evidences that these rubber boats are fabricated somewhere in China. So we requested the support and the intervention of the Chinese authorities in order to give an end to this issue. It is very important for us. You know in Europe we have declared an open war against smuggling networks. They exploit desperate people, they are gaining money out of it, they are very well organised but recently thanks to all the initiatives that we have taken in Europe, we have manage to track down smuggling networks and we will do more in the future.
Q. Have you and Mr Guo touched upon in terms of China taking more refugees, or China taking any refugees?
DA – Well, we didn’t discuss it but you know resettlement is a global responsibility. Many countries, America, Europe and other parts of the world are opening the door to welcome refugees. As I said we didn’t discuss it with the Chinese authorities, at least until now.
Q. You have said before that migration and mobility are the two key elements of mutual interest and development of EU China relations. But for the moment some travellers are discouraged by the substantial difficulties in applying for visa to Europe. What is your Commission doing to make the progress a little bit easier for Chinese tourists?
DA – That is why I am here. To facilitate Chinese travellers who want to come to Europe. Because so far, yes, there are many bureaucratic obstacles. But yesterday during the discussions that we had with the minister, and we shall keep on working on that to open more visa centres in china, all along with another program which will be operational by the end of 2019 something similar to the American ESTA, we are going to adopt the so called, European ETIAS. So it will be much easier for the Chinese to travel to Europe. This will boost tourism. Will boost commerce. And most importantly it will help a lot a better understanding through a better acquaintance, between the two people, the Europeans and the Chinese. You know I have been from a very beginning of my life and my career one of the best friends of China. I have been working on that, since I have been a Minister of tourism in my Country, Greece, but also as a mayor of Athens I was working together with the city of Beijing. So I know that Chinese really want to discover Europe, so they have to find this door open. We love this country, we love these people and we want more Chinese to visit Europe. In the same time, Europeans should discover China. The numbers are very low for the moment, because when we are talking about two millions of Chinese that had visited last year Europe, compared to the population is nothing. So to answer your question, yes the door must be open, that is why we are working on that and very soon to implement this facilitation program in order to have these visa’s issues much easier.
Q. For sure Chinese tourists’ means a lot for Europe and it goes both ways, but in the same time you know some tourists that I am talking they are very concerned about the security conditions in Europe and due to the rise of terrorism and migration crisis. So how do you response to them?
DA – You know that I am in charge also for security. Yes it is true that at the beginning we were taken by surprise. We had to work very hard in order to enhance the cooperation between all the Member States, in order to better manage our borders and to provide with more safety to our citizens. There were some very bad events that have shocked Europe, but right now thanks to this strong cooperation, by using new methods and systems we have ensured more security for our citizens but also to the visitors from abroad. This year will be a good year for tourism. Only in one country, in Greece, more than 30 million are expected to come. So on European scale, even more. This means, that Europe remains a safe destination. But, since you referred to security issues. It is good to remind you that when we are talking about terrorism we talk again about a global issue. So the cooperation between the main global stakeholders like China, United States, Europe, Russia, everybody should be engaged and work together, in common spirit of trust in order to (combat) terrorism. Terrorism is not threatening only Europe, it is threatening the whole world. So we are better prepared and we are work very closely now with the Chinese authorities. The same about migration that as you know last year was the General Assembly of UN that took place in New York where the leaders of the world decided to go together in order to address this issue. When we are talking about migration, refugees it is good to know that this era will be qualified by the Historians of the Future as the era of human mobility. So we have to provide the once who are in need protection and yes it is our moral and political duty, on the other hand it is important to put in place rules for legal migration. So this led me back to your first question opening legal ways for the ones who want to visit Europe. Either is tourist or if they want to come and work there. But as I said before is a precondition to follow legal paths.
Q Thank you so much for that Mr Commissioner., So how long are you staying in China?
DA – I am leaving tonight but this is my 15 visit. I have been here from the very beginning as a mayor of Athens, as Minister of Tourism, as Minister of Foreign affairs, now in my capacity as the European Commissioner; I am one of the proponents of the cooperation between China and EU. And the fact that I have this experience on tourism before helps me a lot to understand how do the Chinese feel when they are confronting with so many bureaucratic obstacles to come to Europe.
Q. Like the supporting documents. But in the same time open the door to everyone then it is also.
DA – I have my theory, that the more you know the other the closer you go. So this helps not only to enhance cooperation but also to full step mutual cultural respect. And that is one of the main answers that we have to give to the security problem that unfortunately is threating right now in a global scale. So by facilitating human mobility we enhance international cooperation and a better understanding.