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DIt took a long time for the EU Commission to get involved in the long debate on opening borders in the Schengen area. On Wednesday, the College of Commissioners will adopt recommendations for a “phased and coordinated approach to lifting internal border controls and restoring freedom of movement.” The 11-page draft is available for this newspaper. It describes an approach that is very cautious and does not impose time constraints on states. In the European Parliament in particular, MEPs wanted a more powerful approach.
Thomas Gutschker
Political correspondent for the European Union, NATO and the Benelux countries based in Brussels.
Firstly, according to the Commission’s will, border controls should be relaxed when “the epidemiological situation is progressively improving” and where there are sufficient testing capacities, beds in intensive care units and the ability to trace chains of infection. The European infection control agency was ordered in April to develop a map showing the infection process at the regional level. But the project has not yet advanced much. On Monday, data from the end of April was shown on the ECDC website, and only from six countries and poorly differentiated. Here, for example, France is already further away with an internal traffic light system, the Robert Koch Institute also with information at the district level.
Another prerequisite to alleviate the situation is that measures to contain the virus can be followed on a complete travel route. This includes, for example, tracking infections with apps. They are currently being developed in many Member States, but are unlikely to be ready before mid-June. There should also be uniform regulations for wearing respirators on trains. Here the Member States have to coordinate with each other, until now all have decided for themselves.
The Commission is also considering the economic impact of border controls and closings. She hopes that the general restrictions will be replaced by specific openings. For healthcare workers, cross-border travelers, and seasonal workers, she has already warned. Now private travelers are also being considered for the first time. Therefore, the authority will adopt its own recommendations for the tourism sector and cross-border traffic on Wednesday.
Not like austria
The Commission recommends that countries only relax entry restrictions for other citizens if free travel within the country is possible. Border health controls must be uniform and non-discriminatory. This relates, for example, to the practice in Austria, which initially required health certificates from travelers in transit, but not from Germans. They were allowed to pass if their tank was only full enough to get home. Border controls in the Schengen area should only be lifted entirely if the “epidemiological situation across the EU is sufficiently positive and converging”, therefore all necessary measures for health care must also be observed. Subsequently, entry restrictions for third countries can also be relaxed.
The communication does not sound as if the Commission is trying to push states forward. Until now, she has not used the option to extend controls. Now remember that you view travel restrictions only as a “last resort” and should only last as long as absolutely necessary. Each state, of course, will judge it differently. Finally, it is said that delaying the opening of borders “would place a great burden not only on the functioning of the internal market, but also on the lives of millions of EU citizens deprived of the benefits of freedom of travel, which is a key EU value. “
Criticism of the European Parliament
That is not enough for CDU MEP Andreas Schwab. “For the implementation of the Schengen rules, the Commission must now set clear and ambitious targets in terms of time and region to move forward in Europe again politically and economically,” Schwab told FAZ. is not sufficient “.
For example, the MP wants all border crossings between Germany and its neighboring countries to reopen as of Friday when customs controls imposed by the federal government expire. In his native Baden, only four crossings to France and one to Switzerland are open. Schwab belongs to a group of CDU parliamentarians who called on federal interior minister Seehofer to open borders.
