In the Corona crisis, pressure on Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on both sides of the Rhine to reopen the French border.
- The German-French border is dense due to the corona virus *
- France would like to open the border
- The situation at borders is assessed differently in Europe
Berlin / Paris - The French are cold - and not because of the corona virus . Politicians from Alsace accuse Interior Minister Horst Seehofer of keeping several border crossings to France closed, although the number of infections on both sides of the Rhine has adjusted. Paris is also in trouble because the Franco-German Treaty of Aachen - the successor to the historic Élysée Agreement - set up a bilateral border issues committee in 2019 to make the Rhine border relevant to European policy even more fluid.
Border between Germany and France closed due to Corona
Brigitte Klinkert, head of the Alsatian department of Haut-Rhin, even speaks of “illegal discrimination” against French citizens in Saarland, Baden-Württemberg or Rhineland-Palatinate. Buyers or professional cross-border commuters from France had been verbally attacked, spat at, or even thrown at eggs in bakeries or shopping centers in April. A French woman said that she had been told to go back to her “ Corona country”. These attacks have now settled in a similar way to the horror reports from the Alsatian hospitals. Nevertheless, President Emmanuel Macron already indicated that he would welcome the opening of the symbolic border across the Rhine.
In the meantime, calls for an opening of all crossings to France are also increasing in Germany. "Our European heart is bleeding," wrote the SPD in a message. FDP boss Christian Lindner speaks in favor of opening for reasons of economic stimulation - especially since the hygiene regulations are well known. Twelve CDU MPs from the Bundestag and the European Parliament have also said that after seven weeks of border closures in the heart of Europe "there must be an end to lattice fences and barriers".
Seehofer does not want to open the German-French border yet
CDU General Secretary Paul Ziemiak pleaded on Friday for a common approach in Europe. "A unified approach within the European Union would be the most important thing," he said. CDU parliamentary group leader Andreas Jung referred on Friday to an opinion by the renowned Constance European law professor Daniel Thym, according to which a continuation of the border closings would "be classified as illegal". With these legal findings, it is clear that ongoing border restrictions beyond May 15th would not only be unacceptable in terms of the “massive impact, but also a violation of European law”, said Jung. "Already now the barriers have to be cleared and all border crossings opened again." But Seehofer had confirmed on Thursday that he would stick to Germany's border closure until May 15th.
Je suis pleinement mobilisée pour que les Etats français, allemand et suisse s'entendent rapidement sur une levée coordonnée des restrictions aux frontières. Mes démarches de cette semaine https://t.co/jlN3OIOJyY #Alsace #Allemagne #Suisse #France pic.twitter.com/L0OFYZn71Z
Until then, the situation in the heart of Europe remains confusing. In Luxembourg, politicians demonstrated on Friday with masks in the style of an EU flag for an opening to Germany. Switzerland also keeps its borders with France closed for now; on the other hand, she wants a “selective” opening towards Germany. This alone shows how differently the individual borderline situations are assessed. In contrast to Seehofer, Bavaria wants “relief” in border traffic with Austria and the Czech Republic. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was similarly heard. The Czech Republic and Slovakia also want to reopen their previously nonexistent borders.
Denmark against opening the border to Germany
Denmark, on the other hand, had spoken out against opening the border with Germany earlier this week . With this attitude Copenhagen tries to avoid a flood of German tourists. Schleswig-Holstein, on the other hand, wants to gradually open the border to Denmark in coordination with Interior Minister Seehofer.
But even if the borders with France and other countries should fall again on May 15, travelers from neighboring countries, but also from Italy and Spain, must continue to count on German customs controls. The EU remains far from returning to total Schengen freedom.
Stefan Brändle with dpa / afp
* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Rubric list picture: © picture alliance / dpa
