The European Commission is encouraging all 27 EU member
states to lift travel restrictions for Schengen-area travellers by the end of
June and resume free movement within the bloc.
The EU suspended free movement within the Schengen area in
March as more member states began reporting an increase in cases of
coronavirus. Travel has all but come to a halt since, with European airlines reducing
services or grounding their aircraft entirely.
EU nations have so far been taking individual approaches to
lifting their lockdowns and restrictions, which the travel industry claims are
confusing customers and putting them off booking summer holidays. Italy began
welcoming EU travellers without quarantine measures on Wednesday, while
countries such as Spain, Greece and some parts of Portugal are planning to
accept passengers in July. Other nations, such as Austria, are only reopening
their borders to neighbouring countries but have said they may still impose
restrictions on some areas.
Home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said she will
formally propose a unified lifting of border closures during a meeting with
member states’ home affairs ministers later today.
The European Commission last month released a set of
recommendations for lifting internal border restrictions in a coordinated
manner. Johansson said the end of June would be a good date for a unified
approach because the coronavirus situation is improving in the majority of
European countries. She also pointed to a recent report from the European
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control that advised against border closures,
saying such measures have a “significant negative impact on the economy and were
effective only in delaying an epidemic at its onset and in isolated regions”.
Meanwhile, the row over the UK’s 14-day quarantine
requirement for all travellers, which comes into force on 8 June, has heated
up, with British Airways refusing to join other British travel companies in a
meeting with home secretary Priti Patel to discuss the measures. Patel is
urging the travel industry to work with the government to find a solution that
will allow international journeys to resume without restrictions, but BA – and other
companies – have repeatedly said the quarantine will deal another damaging blow
to an already fragile industry. Boris Johnson’s government is facing criticism from within his
own party, with several Conservative MPs saying the legislation will further
harm the UK economy.
According to the BBC, a government source said that although
ministers have a list of countries with low infection rates with which they
would like to negotiate ‘air bridges’ to allow travel without quarantine, the
tactic is still “under consideration” and not official policy.