The EU Commission wants to gradually abolish border controls



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The EU Commission believes that the border controls introduced in the Corona crisis should be gradually relaxed.

“As the health situation gradually improves, the balance should shift towards full freedom of movement for people,” says the draft recommendation that the Brussels authorities want to present on Wednesday and from which he cites “Handelsblatt.” In Germany, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) had come under considerable pressure due to ongoing border controls with several neighboring countries. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) expects the crown-related border closure with Germany to end before summer. “I am optimistic that we will find a solution with Germany in the coming weeks,” he said in Vienna on Friday.

Delaying the opening of borders “would not only put a heavy burden on the functioning of the internal market, but also on the lives of millions of EU citizens who are denied the benefits of free movement, according to the EU Commission” “says the report. A coordinated and careful approach is important.

First, controls should be relaxed in regions where infection numbers on both sides of the border are comparable. The agency had already made a similar statement in its crown exit strategy in mid-April. Furthermore, it is “of utmost importance” that sufficient evidence is available and that authorities work together across borders to trace contact of sick people.

EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson said last week with a view to border openings: “We have to proceed step by step and in a coordinated manner. Our main objective is to restore a fully functional Schengen area of ​​free movement as soon as the health situation allows it. ” The restrictions would have to be gradually lifted.

(APA / dpa)

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