- Berlin, Deutschland (German)
The worlds most ideal vacation place Europe has set July 1st as the date for the countries within the continent to reopen their borders to family members, loved ones, and tourists that live outside of the European Union nations.
The decision on easing restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus rests with national capitals, but Borrell said Brussels would suggest "a gradual and partial lifting" of the ban.
EU member states have begun to ease temporary restrictions on non-essential crossing of the borders within the bloc, with a goal of June 15 for restoring free travel. At the weekend, the interior ministers of the 27 member states agreed to coordinate a gradual reopening to travellers from outside the Schengen area, Britain and the EU.
From June 15, internal EU borders will open
From this date, people should be able to travel freely across all EU bloc countries, once they are inside. For example, Austria will reopen its border with Italy on June 16th. Spain will reopen its borders with France and Portugal on July 1st and end its quarantine for international travellers.
Switzerland will reopen its borders to all EU and Schengen countries on July 15th but people will obviously only be able to travel to these countries if the countries in question have also opened their borders. Euronews reported a country-by-country breakdown of which borders will open.
From June 29, travel between the U.K and France might be possible
From June 8th to June 29th, the U.K. imposed a two week quarantine for people coming into the country–prompting France to do the same, although according to The Local, the quarantine on the French side is voluntary, has many exemptions and is likely to be scrapped once the U.K. does the same. The U.K. government plans to review quarantine from France on June 29th.
Travel is now unlimited across France
France has never closed its borders but it has demanded une attestation de déplacement internationale (an international travel certificate) which is only available for special healthcare workers or cross-border workers or for people whose permanent residence is in France and they were trying to get home.
On May 11, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe lifted the 1 km restriction on travelling in France and replaced it with a 100 km restriction. On May 28, this was lifted and now travelling is possible on an unlimited basis within France.
In July, France’s main train operator, SNCF, plans to relaunch its buffet car service–it has already taken away the need to sit on every other seat, meaning that all seats in its carriages can now be full when the train leaves (buses, trams and metros are still operating a policy of using every other seat). Masks are still obligatory on all public transport.
A spokesman for the American Embassy in Paris said that they are advocating that for the time being, people shouldn’t travel. He said they supported the current social media campaign across all foreign embassies, ‘Adventure can wait. Stay home. Stay safe.’
However, experts warned that easing restrictions combined with summer weather could make people forget about social distancing and hygiene rules - triggering a new surge in coronavirus cases and, eventually, bringing back lockdowns into the bloc.
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