International relations - Europe opens doors for tourists

More Chinese tourists can visit Europe in groups, now the Schengen-countries and China have closed an agreement on the "Approved Destination Status" of Europe for Chinese tourists, the European Commission announced today. Sticking point has been the repatriations of illegal Chinese migrants, a point where China for a long time claimed it could not take them back. Identifying Chinese illegals was a difficult job, but those problems seem to have been solved now.
The EU had to sign an agreement as Germany closed last year a bilateral agreement with China, although provisions between the member-states of the so-called Schengen countries did not allow such a unilateral move. Germany started to rake in income from the rather wealthy Chinese that could afford to visit Europe, with the Euro at an unprecedented height.
Great Britainm Denmark and Ireland do not belong to the Schengen-countries and are negotiating seperate treaties, so for the time being the lovely British beaches are off limits for legal visitors from China.
While tourism was officially not allowed, more than half a million Chinese tourists visited in 2002 Europe, often on business visa. The text of the agreement is available here.