[ad_1]
“As soon as Germany is ready”: According to Chancellor Sebastián Kurz (ÖVP), the opening of the border between Germany and Austria is approaching. The number of infections with the coronavirus is currently lower in Austria than in Germany. “Therefore, I also assume that the border with Germany will open before the summer,” said Kurz.
The government is in almost daily contact with its German partners on this issue. Opening a border is not only important from a tourist point of view, it would also make life easier for many families who are currently separated by border controls. The same applies to travelers and all those who simply have to travel for professional reasons.
In Austria, the number of people suffering from Covid 19 fell to around 1,300. There are still around 350 patients in hospitals. About 100 of them are in intensive care units. The number of new infections each day is in the low two-digit range.
“Unacceptable in the matter”
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn calls for European coordination to facilitate border controls due to the crown pandemic. Close coordination with neighboring countries is important, the CDU politician said on Friday. In doing so, attention should be paid to the occurrence of infection and pandemic measures on both sides of the border.
At the same time, pressure is mounting on the CSU-led federal Interior Ministry. The leader of the CDU parliamentary group, Andreas Jung, on Friday referred to an opinion by renowned European law professor Constance Daniel Thym, that the continuation of border closures “would be classified as illegal”.
With these legal findings, it is clear that ongoing border restrictions beyond May 15 would be not only unacceptable in terms of “massive impact, but also a violation of European law,” Jung said. “The barriers must be removed immediately and all border crossings must be reopened.”
Jung is one of the co-authors of a statement by twelve CDU Bundestag and MEPs who, in a letter dated May 5 to Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), called for the borders to be opened to at least Austria and Switzerland. However, Seehofer rejected this request on Thursday.
