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On Wednesday, EU ambassadors welcomed the proposal of the current German presidency and those rules are expected to be agreed within a week. It is true that legally they are unlikely to be binding, but they are binding.
The discussion of the EU ambassadors lasted two hours on Wednesday. According to sources, there were no dramas or harsh speeches even from those countries that have already taken severe restrictions. According to diplomats, all countries understand that common rules and coordination are needed to avoid spring chaos and further damage to their economies. The ambassadors commented and agreed to continue working on the 5 points raised by Germany.
The ambassadors commented and agreed to continue working on the 5 points raised by Germany.
Experts from the Member States and the European Commission should now develop the proposals. The common rules are expected to be ready fairly soon, in a few weeks. Because the situation with COVID-19 is still very complicated. They must be valid in the EU and the European Economic Area (in addition to EU members, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Great Britain, Liechtenstein).
“We see that the number of infections is growing, EU countries are applying and introducing new measures to control the spread of the virus. However, it is essential that all these measures are adequate, proportionate and do not adversely affect the functioning of the EU single market. We believe that public health and a functioning single EU market, the functioning of Schengen, are compatible tasks in the interest of all EU members. Coordinated measures and rapid agreement on them are needed, ”commented Ambassador Simonas Šatūnas, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lithuanian Mission to the EU.
It is true that diplomats wonder if they will be legally binding, since the protection of health and borders is a matter for the Member States, but the rules can be “morally” binding, as can the consolidation of the solidarity of the EU.
As DELFI.lt has already written, the German proposal did not foresee specific measures or rules (for example, what should be the proportion of infected people for a state or region to be declared “red”). However, there were 5 problematic issues raised (data, criteria, identification of risk areas, measures, communication).
“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.
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.
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. It is desirable that an exam taken in one EU country is valid in another, so that you do not have to do it again when you fly to one country or 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).
Finally, it is proposed that countries inform each other, as well as EU citizens, as soon as possible.
This initiative was prompted by Hungary’s unilateral decision to close the borders to all EU and non-EU citizens as of September 1, with the exception of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It was reminiscent of last spring, when country after country rushed to close borders, completely undermining one of the EU’s fundamental principles, the free movement of people, services and goods.
Vilnius is scared by the possibility that Poland will begin to restrict movement through its territory, as happened in the spring and some Lithuanian citizens trapped on the German-Polish border.
On Monday, Lithuanian Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga said travel restrictions and critical morbidity rates 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.
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