Summer holidays back on in France and Europe as borders set to reopen
European travelers will be able to jet off to the sun again by the end of this month after EU leaders agreed to reopen their internal borders that were shut to stop the coronavirus.
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The decision to allow European travel was announced on Friday during a video conference involving the EU’s 27 home affairs ministers.
The EU’s home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, told journalists that all of the Schengen zone's internal border controls would be removed by the end of June, although a ban remains in place on travelers coming from outside the bloc.
"Almost all member states” supported the idea of a “further, much shorter prolongation,” Johansson said.
The travel ban, in place since 17 March, was due to expire on 15 June and has now been extended until 1 July.
The news is likely to be a morale boost for millions of Europeans and the hard-hit tourism industry and comes just in time before the crucial summer holidays.
Patchwork reopening
Some European governments have already begun reopening their borders to selected neighbors, often in a haphazard manner.
On Wednesday, Italy took the plunge by beckoning European tourists to come back as the country tries to stave off its deepest recession since World War II.
Rome has appealed for "reciprocity" from European partners on the reopening of borders. However, this message has fallen largely on deaf ears in Switzerland and Austria, which continue to shut out Italian travelers.
Britons too are facing tough checks when arriving in countries such as France and Spain, where they face a two-week quarantine. This is in part a reciprocal measure matching the UK’s two-week isolation period imposed on foreign visitors.
No long goodbyes
In Greece, which is keen to relaunch its tourism industry, there will only be spot tests done and no quarantine from 1 July.
This cat's cradle of rules where each nation adopts its own screening measures belies the EU's overtures of unity, and means that procedures for incoming travelers will ultimately be decided at national level.
What will be unanimous however across the board are the rules adopted when people travel by air.
Last month, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency outlined new guidelines regulating airline journeys.
From now on, passengers will have to wear masks on all flights and keep their goodbyes to loved ones short from outside the terminal. The sale of duty-free items will also be banned in terminals and on flights.
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