Brussels fears that the spread of the 2019-nCoV virus will cause the first closure of borders for health reasons since the entry into force of the Schengen area in 1995. Until now, border controls had been temporarily restored for reasons of public safety or practically permanent as a result of the migration crisis of 2015. But the free movement of people to stop an epidemic that, from China, is gaining strength in Europe through Italy has never been limited before.
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Ten days after the meeting of European Health Ministers in Brussels, the worst omens have been fulfilled. The checkpoints and information set at some airports have not prevented the virus from continuing to cross borders. And the European Commission observes its expansion with concern. "We are following the situation in Italy very closely," says Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. The Cypriot leader is being informed by the Italian Health Minister of the evolution of the crisis, and highlights "the rapid reaction of the authorities and their transparency in communication."
The department of Kyriakides adds that so far no country has taken measures to establish border control within the EU. But Commission sources recognize that the hypothesis gains ground. "We fear that in the next few days some country may raise it." Brussels points to the Austrian government of Sebastian Kurz as the main candidate to adopt a measure whose utility raises serious doubts.
"In such an interconnected world it is difficult to do that, and more in Europe. I am not in favor of border closures because it does not help fight the epidemic. I know it is difficult to explain to people, but it is not so useful and it is unfeasible. "says Marc Van Ranst, an epidemiologist at the University Hospital of Leuven, one of the reference centers against the coronavirus in Belgium. "The best solution is to identify the cases and isolate them. It is a way to save time to prepare the population and hospitals for something that is likely to come," he concludes.
Despite the doubts of the specialists, the race for armor seems to have begun. Austria has already denied the passage on Sunday night to a train from Venice, which was headed to Munich, after informing the Italian operator that two passengers could be infected, the Austrian Interior Ministry told Reuters.
Another member of the EU, Romania, has decreed this Sunday the mandatory quarantine of 14 days for people arriving from the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, as announced by the Ministry of Health of that country. Passengers arriving at Bucharest airport will be subjected to a medical questionnaire and those who raise doubts may be subjected to a quarantine at their own homes.
Schengen rules allow governments to reintroduce border controls unilaterally when they perceive an immediate threat. The decision must be communicated ipso facto to the other Member States and to the Commission. And it can be in force for an initial period of 10 days, extendable up to a maximum of two months.
Kyriakides and the crisis management commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, have called a press conference on the morning of this Monday to detail the response that is being given to the epidemic and the financial resources that the EU has mobilized to combat them. Brussels is confident that the exercise of communication and transparency will help contain fears that could trigger extreme measures such as border closure.
But trust among EU partners is low after a decade of successive crises (economic, immigration, jihadist) and the risk of a chain reaction increases at times.
The distrust already caused in 2015 the closing of borders between several EU partners. And although the European Commission repeats that they are unnecessary, they still remain on Austria's borders with Hungary and Slovenia; in Germany with Austria; in Denmark with Germany and Sweden; in all of Sweden; and in the connections by ferry from Norway with Denmark, Norway and Sweden. France also maintains controls at all borders for the terrorist threat.
Brussels fears that the health panic now breaks the battered Schengen area even further. The evolution of the virus outbreak in Italy can be key to contain fear or for neighboring countries to restrict circulation. Italy has a land border with four countries in the Schengen area: France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The establishment of border controls in any of them could increase the pressure in the rest to adopt the same measure.
Outside the EU, Russia has already banned the entry of Chinese visitors and Turkey has closed the border with Iran, one of the countries where it has detected the virus. In Italy, the extreme right led by Matteo Salvini also calls for the closure of borders abroad, although the speed of infections in the last hours in the transalpine country exposes him rather to an isolation from the rest of the EU
For now, the European Commission has not published any support measures for Italy. Brussels is assuming the role of ensuring that the hospitals of the Twenty-Seven are prepared for an eventual avalanche of patients, and coordinates a possible joint purchase of protective equipment to alleviate future supply shortages. "Only together can we cope with this situation"; Kyriakides has said in a call to maintain a common strategy.
For the Belgian epidemiologist Van Ranst, all the criteria for Covid-19 to be declared a pandemic are already fulfilled, and he estimates that the World Health Organization will not take long to do so. "He will probably do it next week. It is an important decision and time is taken. In the coming days and weeks new cases will be known, and more countries will be taking measures similar to those in Italy. So far it is trying to isolate, but that it does not stop the virus, it only delays its expansion, "he explains.
The doctor says that, as with the cases of influenza, the arrival of high temperatures will cause a decrease in the incidence of the virus, but until then there are several months in which he can continue to wreak havoc. And the multiplication of cases can generate a climate of restlessness, sometimes uncontrolled. "You have to differentiate between panic and worry. The first is not useful, the second must lead to take the problem seriously and be prepared. It is a disease comparable to normal flu," he insists.
25 tons of material heading to China
Fears for the spread of the virus in Europe have not caused Brussels to neglect collaboration with China, the country where the first cases were detected. The European Commission announced on Sunday the shipment of 25 tons of protective material - masks, gloves, protective clothing and disinfectant products - to the Asian giant. The package has been co-financed by the Community Executive, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia, and left on Sunday morning for China from Vienna on an Austrian plane. It is the second delivery of material in just one month. At the beginning of February Brussels reported the shipment to China of another 30 tons of protective equipment.
