The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Monday 16 March that all non-essential travel, i.e. leisure travel by non-Member State nationals to Member States of the EU, the Schengen area or Schengen-associated countries, will be restricted for a period of 30 days in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
This announcement, which echoes that made for the Europeans last week by US President Donald Trump, was made at the conference with the G7 Members and will be submitted to the Heads of State and Government of the Twenty-Seven who will meet by teleconference at the end of the day on 17 March.
This proposal will also be submitted to the United Kingdom and Ireland (linked by their common travel zone) and the EFTA countries.
Motivated by fears of overloading the hospital systems of the Twenty-Seven, should these tourists have health problems, the proposal will not affect the doctors, nurses, diplomats or long-term residents of the EU who may enter, Mrs von der Leyen said. Cargo planes or other necessary cargo transport to the EU will also be able to operate.
The announcement followed the guidelines issued the same day for Member States to intelligently apply their right to re-establish controls at the internal Schengen borders. Objective: that these temporary internal controls do not further aggravate the internal situation in the EU by blocking heavy goods vehicles or medical equipment bound for other Member States.
While 10 Schengen countries, eight EU Member States among them (Austria, Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia and Denmark) and two associated countries, Switzerland and Norway, had notified controls on the basis of Article 28 of the Schengen Code in the early afternoon of 16 March, the Commission issued advice to customs and border police officers. The Commission also recalled that no traffic restrictions should be placed on the transport of goods or health equipment/products.
Priority lanes and weekend flexibility
In particular, the Commission recommended that special priority lanes be established for vehicles transporting goods or health products; Member States could also consider easing their bans on freight traffic on weekends.
Specific transport nodes (e.g. ports, airports, logistics platforms) should also be strengthened to ensure the unhindered movement of these and other necessary goods.
The EU Transport Ministers will discuss the implementation of these guidelines on Wednesday afternoon via videoconference. “The Commission is working with EU Member States to ensure the flow of essential goods across land borders”, said European Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean on Monday on her Twitter account.
Proportionate checks on individuals
The Commission also recommends that restrictions on the movement of persons between Member States should be based on real health risks and formulated in a transparent manner. Such possible refusals to let people cross the border must always remain proportionate decisions.
These health checks at internal borders should, moreover, take place on one side only, and the authorities could then coordinate.
For people arriving at the external borders, Commissioner Ylva Johansson, responsible for Home Affairs, had already explained on 13 March that Member States could refuse entry to non-Member State nationals presenting potential health risks to the European territory or place them directly in quarantine. All European residents should be able to go home.
The President of the Commission went further on Monday with a restriction on travel to the EU.
Link to the proposal for a 30-day restriction on non-essential travel to the EU: https://bit.ly/38Y6abo
Link to the ‘Schengen’ guidelines: https://bit.ly/3d6mPg4 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Agathe Cherki and Marion Fontana)