The external borders of the Schengen area and the EU will remain closed until at least 15 June. This is the proposal made by the European Commission in a new communication to the Member States and adopted on the same day, 8 May.
EU and Schengen Member States have already been asked twice to impose restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU by travellers from non-Member States. The first such proposal was proposed on 16 March and approved by all Member States on 17 March, with the exception of Ireland, which joined a common travel zone with the United Kingdom. The measure was then extended until 15 May (see EUROPE 12464/15).
In this new Communication, the Commission reiterates the conditions that governed the previous proposals: all non-essential travel to the EU by nationals from non-Member States will be banned; only nationals and long-term residents in the EU or foreign professionals who have to operate on European soil as well as certain professionals (e.g. medical) will be allowed to arrive on Member States’ territory. However, such persons may be ordered to quarantine.
This proposal was one of the topics of discussion at the European Home Affairs Ministers meeting on 8 May. Meeting with the Commission for their weekly briefing, they also discussed the forthcoming guidelines on the gradual lifting of internal border controls.
The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, gave an overview of this topic to MEPs from the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (see EUROPE 12482/16). The lifting of restrictions should be progressive and coordinated between countries. She also insisted that discrimination between nationals from different Member States will not be allowed. Three criteria will need to be taken into account: the level of the epidemic on either side of the border, the purpose of travel, and the presence of ‘protective measures’.
Link to the 8 May communication: https://bit.ly/3ciaKDI (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)