444 COMPETITION LAW IN TOURISM developed so as to raise awareness of the importance of the support to this sector for the overall recovery of the economy76. Very recently, in its 27May 2021Conclusions, the Council fully acknowledges the importance of the tourism sector for the EU economy, thus concluding that it is of the utmost importance to, inter alia, (i) ensure regular cooperation and exchange of best practices between Member States; (ii) move towards a collective and well-coordinated response to the current pandemic and possible future crisis with a common cohesive approach; (iii) enhance the quality of education and skills development of tourism professionals, in particular in what concerns digital skills; and (iv) improve and promote tourism products and services with due regard to the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e., economic, social and environmental. However, on the one hand the Council recommends “that Member States share their vision, ideas and potential projects on how tourism ecosystem can contribute to achieving the European Green Deal objectives, aligned with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals of the Agenda 2030”, and “invites the Commission and Member States, in participation with relevant stake holders, to design a European Agenda forTourism2030/2050, underpinned by shared priorities and action plans”; and on the other hand, the Council “encourages Member States to develop sustainable, responsible and resilient tourism policies and strategies” (on a standalone basis). E.1. Tourism during the COVID-19 outbreak In line with the sanitary measures adopted by countries outside the EU, in March 2020 Member States temporarily reintroduced external, internal, terrestrial, air and sea border controls due to the COVID-19 pandemic and EU external borders77. On 15 April 2020, the Commission in cooperation with the President of the European Council has put forward a European roadmap to phase-out the containment measures. However, the way they were lifted was more gradual and remained effective until the end of June78. This meant that 76 For example, in 28 September 2020, the Ministers in charge of Tourism from 10 Member States (including Portugal) have issued a joint declaration urging for a harmonised and coordinated European response to the COVID -19 pandemic. Also, members of the European Parliament have voiced concerns on the urgency in providing support to the same sector of activity. 77 For details on the Member States notifications of temporary reintroduction of borders, please visit https:// ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen/reintroduction-border-control_en. 78 See the Commission’s press release, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ ip_20_1035.
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