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The strongest call to do something about it, otherwise the EU will once again be paralyzed and the Schengen area will collapse like a house of cards was Hungary’s unilateral decision to close the borders to all EU and foreign citizens from the EU as of September 1, excluding Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It was reminiscent of last spring, when country after country rushed to close borders, thus completely undermining one of the EU’s fundamental principles, the free movement of people and goods.
The strongest call to do something about it, otherwise the EU will once again be paralyzed and the Schengen area will collapse like a house of cards was Hungary’s unilateral decision to close the borders to all EU and foreign citizens from the EU as of September 1, excluding Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The German Presidency of the EU this semester has taken the initiative to intensify coordination and joint action. It is expected that on Wednesday afternoon, together with the European Commission, it will present its proposal to the EU ambassadors on the harmonization of data and measures for the prevention of COVID-19 in the EU and the European Economic Area (Switzerland, Norway , Iceland, United Kingdom and Liechtenstein in addition to the EU members).
There are no concrete proposals in the document yet (state what the proportion of infected people must be for a country or region to be declared “red”). However, 5 problematic issues are raised (data, criteria, identification of risk areas, measures, communication), on which an attempt will be made to reach a consensus.
“A common response is necessary to avoid the fragmented approach we saw earlier this year, as well as to preserve the integrity of the Schengen area,” said the document distributed to EU ambassadors.
In particular, it is proposed to agree on the harmonization of the presentation and use of the data. Some countries, such as Belgium, now do not include the entire country in the “red” lists, but rather certain regions of the country from which return is subject to quarantine and testing. That is, the European Commission recommended not to evaluate the entire country, but only its regions in the spring. Lithuania records the entire country if there are more than 16 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000. population.
The European Commission did not recommend evaluating the entire country, but only its regions, in the spring. Lithuania records the entire country if there are more than 16 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000. population.
This last criterion is also misleading, as EU countries use different indicators (such as test volumes) or the proportion by which one country or another is identified as a risk area. Lithuania 16 100 thousand. It applies to EU and non-EU countries.
On Monday, Lithuanian Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said travel restrictions and critical morbidity indicators should be reviewed.
“It seems that a similar question will arise for the EU countries. We discussed a little about what that indicator should be so that countries do not restrict movement again. Because if we all become similar or almost the same, what is the point of closing some to others? This is probably the way to have such a discussion, “said A. Veryga.
The Germans also propose to agree on measures on when and how to introduce the mandatory wearing of masks, or how long the quarantine should be applied (for example, in Lithuania – 14 days, in other countries – 10 days). Additionally, there are differences in the test results required by some countries to enter – 48 hours in one location and 72 hours in another.
The Germans also propose to agree on measures on when and how to introduce the mandatory wearing of masks, or how long the quarantine should be applied (for example, in Lithuania – 14 days, in other countries – 10 days). Additionally, there are differences in the test results required by some countries to enter – 48 hours in one location and 72 hours in another.
Finally, it is proposed that countries inform each other, as well as EU citizens, as soon as possible.
The document states that the goal is to listen to the opinions of EU member states on the problems identified and take further action accordingly. According to diplomats, the common rules of COVID-19 should not be binding, as both border and health issues are the responsibility of states, but if agreed, countries are likely to abide by them.
The European Parliament also proposes joint action in the context of the coronavirus. One of its largest political groups, “Renewing Europe”, asked the director of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to establish a working group to coordinate measures to combat COVID-19, made up of representatives of the states , the European Commission and the European Parliament.
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