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EU states react to virus mutation in Britain without common line, says Alexander Goebel. And they provide a no-deal Brexit preview: Britain is already considered a third country.
A comment from Alexander Göbel, ARD-Studio Brussels
That was only missing: in the south of England B1.1.7. discovered – an apparently particularly contagious mutation of the coronavirus. And there is already absolute chaos in travel, and that just before Christmas. Epidemiologically, several EU countries, including Germany, justify the fact that they immediately stopped air traffic to Great Britain and initiated border closures, which is why the Eurotunnel is also closed for the first time.
EU crisis meeting with no result
However: this is bad déjà vu. And malice towards Britain is totally inappropriate. Hadn’t many countries introduced border controls or closed their borders without consulting the other states at the beginning of the Corona crisis? Have we already forgotten about mega congestion and delays in the movement of goods, as well as the commitment to finally coordinate more closely? It is even more worrying that a crisis meeting between the EU countries did not produce any concrete results.
Are we closing the Schengen area again?
Virologists suspect that B1.1.7. – first detected in Britain in September – it may have been with us for a long time, on the continent. What happens then with the doctors, with the nurses who come from the UK or who are needed there? What happens to the Schengen area if dangerous mutations of the virus continue to spread? Should we close again then? Do we still believe that Corona will stop at barriers or airports?
A preview of Brexit
The dozens of kilometers of truck queues on both sides of the English Channel are the result of a lack of consultation, a lack of rapid tests and half-hearted prevention strategies. And, of course, they are a preview of what Brexit can mean on top of that, especially a break without a deal. Britain is being treated as a third country these days, the mutated virus is ahead of Brexit negotiators. But they are still discussing fish catch quotas.
