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reControls at the German borders will be gradually relaxed starting Saturday. The federal government has been pursuing the goal of returning to “free travel in Europe” from mid-June, federal interior minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) said on Wednesday after a cabinet meeting in Berlin. The government had agreed a gradual procedure with France, Switzerland and Austria.
As of Saturday, border controls with the three neighboring countries should initially be relaxed but not yet stopped, Seehofer said. So only random checks are planned, no longer exhaustive. Starting June 15, they should stop completely if the infection allows it.
At the borders, there will be “significant relaxation and simplification,” said the minister. However, full openness presupposes “that we remain vigorous in the fight against infection.”
A special agreement had been agreed with Luxembourg: there, border controls should be completely removed from Saturday. A similar solution is currently being negotiated with Denmark. At the borders with France, Austria and Switzerland, all crossings should reopen from Saturday, Seehofer said. Controls at the border crossing must continue as a sample. Meanwhile, Austria has announced that travel facilitation at the border, for example for family visits to the neighboring country, will be implemented starting next Friday.
For third-country entries, the current restrictions should remain in force until at least June 15, Seehofer said. He cited the United States and Russia as an example. The quarantine obligation should continue to apply to entries from such third countries; in other words, the requirement that immigrants first enter quarantine for 14 days after their arrival in Germany. The quarantine requirement for travel within the interior of Europe should be abolished.
This Wednesday, the EU Commission also wanted to present a plan for the cautious opening of internal borders in Europe. According to a draft available to the German Press Agency, controls should also be gradually lifted across Europe.
Maas wants to gradually cancel travel warnings
A world travel warning from the Federal Foreign Office currently applies until June 14. Accordingly, Germans generally must refrain from vacationing abroad, also due to a return trip due to the newly imposed taxes. Crown measurements could be very difficult. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas now wants to gradually lift this travel warning and start with European countries. Maas did not specify a time for this on Wednesday. “It will certainly be possible for Europe to lift the travel warning sooner than for other travel destinations, provided the current positive trend continues in many countries,” Maas said.
The Foreign Minister indicated that the travel warning cannot be raised simultaneously throughout the European Schengen area, where there are normally no border controls. “The aim should be to coordinate the approach in Europe as best as possible, even if the situation differs from country to country. We don’t all have to go at the same pace, but we don’t have to run either, so as not to step on each other, ”said the SPD politician. 26 European countries belong to the Schengen area.
Maas plans to invite his counterparts to a “neighborhood dialogue” in the coming days. There is a need to discuss how travel traffic in Europe can be made possible again. “Freedom of travel is part of the foundation of the European project,” Maas emphasized. “In Crown times, Europe has to guarantee even more: the freedom to travel safely.”
The upcoming conversations also discuss how tourists can easily return home if the situation changes. After the outbreak of the crown pandemic, the Federal Foreign Office organized an unprecedented return campaign in which 240,000 German tourists stranded abroad were transferred to their homes.
