MEP Sakis Arnaoutoglou (S&D, Greece) provided an official question to the EU Commission on the unequal development of tourist ports, noting that Greece is expected to have only 49 marinas in operation by 2030 compared to 1,403 in France and 961 in Italy. He underlined that this gap prevents Greece from fully harnessing maritime tourism as a driver of sustainable growth.

Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas replied that while port development is a national competence, EU instruments provide support. He highlighted measures in the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan, EUR 228 million allocated through national and regional programmes, as well as funding from Cohesion Policy, EMFAF and Interreg NEXT MED. He added that the Transition Pathway for Tourism and the EU Agenda for Tourism 2030 underline the importance of sustainable development in coastal and island economies, which account for 45% of nights spent in the EU.