[ad_1]
Pressure to withdraw controls, especially from border regions, has recently increased. Chancellor Merkel’s comments at the parliamentary meeting give hope. The cabinet reports Wednesday.
Pressure on the federal government to quickly reopen borders with neighboring countries has steadily increased in recent days. Chancellor Angela Merkel is now giving hope on this issue. It was important to her that the checks would not continue “until the end of the day,” Merkel said, according to the ARD Capital Studies in a virtual Union meeting.
The issue will be discussed tomorrow in the cabinet. Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants to comment on this until Friday. According to the chancellor, the objective is always to implement changes in cooperation with neighboring countries. It is important that the infection process there is also adjusted, so that the number of infected people also decreases. The question of quarantine at each entry also had to be clarified: the government also knew here that there had to be a perspective, Merkel said. Most important is the opening of the border crossings as a whole. In many places, however, it will be a two-stage process.
Prospects for gradual openings
The chancellor made reference to France, which plans to control the border with Germany until mid-June. At this point, Germany could also stop the controls. At the borders with Switzerland, this could happen in early June. The same applies to Austria and Switzerland, said the chancellor. There have never been border controls with the Netherlands and Belgium, and this will continue to be the case. Poland and the Czech Republic had introduced border controls on their own initiative. In Denmark and Luxembourg, there could probably be a further step in consultation with the Prime Ministers and the Danish government. Merkel was not more specific here. It is important that action is not taken against the wishes of state prime ministers, but in close cooperation with them.
Circumscription pressure
A normalization at the German-French border, for example, would be important for travelers who can enter each country, but sometimes have to make long detours because numerous border crossings are still closed. Other border regions are also affected. Therefore, the pressure of the electoral districts is great.
Before Merkel’s remarks, a two-digit number of deputies had called for a quick opening of the border. CDU Secretary General Paul Ziemiak, according to participants, called for the borders with Switzerland, France and Poland to be opened. The situation is different today than at the beginning of the pandemic. Looking at the Polish border, Ziemiak said “something is broken here that is difficult to repair.”
Among other things, numerous parliamentarians from Baden-Württemberg spoke. According to the dpa news agency, Felix Schreiner emphasized that the border with Switzerland is not about going on vacation, but about the reality of life in a border region. The leader of the Union’s parliamentary group, Andreas Jung, called for European responses. People in the border region are angry. Control measures must end on May 15.
NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet also intervened again in the debate. “My soul hurts when I see that the barriers in Europe have fallen again,” he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “That is why we should finish closing the border this week and restore Europe.”
The EU Commission wants to present guidelines
The EU Commission also called for a gradual abolition of border controls. The agency will present “guidelines for gradual and gradual lifting” on Wednesday, Monique Pariat, the Commission’s director general of the interior, told the European Parliament’s interior commission.
Therefore, the primary goal is to expand exemptions for employees and family members across the border.
