EU Commission Urges Six Member States to Remove Some of Their COVID-19 Border Restrictions

The European Union Commission has warned six of its Member States to abolish some of the current entry restrictions and other COVID-19 measures imposed within their territory and at their ports of entry, after asserting that the same measures are hindering the bloc’s free movement of people and goods more than necessary.

According to a four-page letter of the Commission seen by the DPA new agency, six EU countries – Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, and Sweden – have been urged to lift their current border restrictions and permit the free movement of EU citizens in their territory.

“We believe that the objective justifiably pursued by Germany – the protection of public health during a pandemic – could be attained by less restrictive measures,” the Commission wrote in the letter, which was sent to the German Ambassador in Brussels Michael Clauss, as well as the ambassadors of the five other countries.

The letter, among others, asserts that the measures imposed by these countries are disproportionate and unjustified.

Governments of the same countries have now a period of ten days to respond to the Commission after receiving the request on Monday, February 22.  According to the EU laws, if the Member States fail to undertake the necessary measures, the Commission may undertake legal action against them.

In the letter sent to Ambassador Clauss, the Commission brings up the issue of border controls that Germany has in place with Czechia and Slovakia, as both of the latter are ranked as ‘areas of a variant of concern’ by the German authorities.

“We would therefore ask you to provide us with more information as to which criteria and information were used when designating Czechia and Slovakia as ‘areas of a variant of concern,” the letter notes, criticizing the German authorities for not making any exemptions for categories as cross-border families, as well as members of foreign governments or the European Parliament.

The letters have drawn attention by the officials in the respective Member States, including the German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth, according to which the need for imposing such restrictions has been proved after the situation at the Czech-German and Austria-German border had calmed significantly after the closure.

“I, first of all, reject the accusation that we didn’t stick to EU law,” the Minister said among others, insisting that Germany also wants to remove border controls as soon as possible.

The EU Commissioner for Justice Rule of law-consumer protection Didier Reynders, during a virtual meeting of the General Affairs Council (GAC) on Tuesday, February 23, has, among others, called on recall the importance of a coordinated approach to restrictions on free movement.

“In the GAC, I called on the Ministers to respect their European Union commitments regarding travel restrictions. EU Council has agreed on a coordinated approach on free movement to ensure proportionate measures & preserve essential travel. We must continue going into this direction,” Commissioner Reynders tweeted.

Only last week, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reported that at least nine EU/Schengen countries currently have in place border controls introduced in the context of COVID-19.

The Commission is attempting to prevent a protentional situation similar to the one caused in spring 2020 when the majority of the Schengen Area countries had imposed border controls in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic. The same controls were later removed due to a stable situation at the beginning of summer, the same year.