The European Commission is to recommend that its member states start a ‘gradual and partial’ re-opening of external borders to travellers from outside the EU from 1 July, diplomat Josep Borrell said on Wednesday.
Josep Borrell is Spain’s former Foreign Minister and now the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at the EU Commission.
Any final decision on easing the travel restrictions that were put in place to combat the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19) will rest with the government of each EU country, and Borrell said that Brussels would recommend ‘a gradual and partial lifting’ of the ban.
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EU foreign affairs chief @JosepBorrellF has just announced that there will be a "gradual and partial" lifting of the EU's external borders starting 1 July.
Right now only EU citizens can enter. No detail yet on who else could enter come July.
But probably not Americans, I hear. pic.twitter.com/iwFe7sGrck
— Dave Keating (@DaveKeating) June 10, 2020
Some EU countries have started to relax restrictions on non-essential crossing of the borders within the bloc, with a goal of 15 June for restoring free travel.
Over the weekend, the 27 member states’ interior ministers agreed to coordinate a gradual reopening to travellers from outside the Schengen area.
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Greece has already announced that it will re-open its borders from 15 June to a list of countries, including non-EU states such as Australia, China and South Korea.
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