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EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and EU council chief Charles Michel: The internal market should continue to function despite stricter travel rules
Photo: OLIVIER HOSLET / AFP
In view of the spread of highly contagious virus mutations, the EU states want to tighten their protective measures.
Unnecessary travel should be further restricted, but European borders should remain as open as possible for goods and commuters.
This was reported by EU Council President Charles Michel after an EU video summit.
The feared new virus variants should therefore be tracked down more specifically and the vaccination campaign should get better momentum.
There should be an EU vaccination certificate, but initially no advantages for vaccinated people - for example when traveling.
Michel said member states were very concerned about the new, more contagious variants of the virus.
Therefore, the restrictions should be maintained and, in some cases, tightened.
However, the borders would have to remain open for the single market to continue to function, added Michel.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced that a new category of "dark red zones" should be introduced where the corona virus is very common.
People wishing to travel from these zones could be required to have a test before departure and quarantine upon arrival.
Unnecessary travel should be strongly advised against, added von der Leyen.
In addition, at least five percent of positive corona samples should be tested for mutations throughout the EU.
The situation is very serious.
Distribution of vaccines simultaneously and according to population size
Regarding the vaccinations, which have only started slowly in the EU, Michel said that the heads of state and government wanted an acceleration.
However, the principle should remain that the vaccines are distributed in the EU at the same time and according to population size.
Before the summit, Chancellor Angela Merkel had campaigned for closer cooperation with the EU states, but did not completely rule out controls at German borders.
"If a country with an incidence that is perhaps twice as high as Germany opens all its shops while they are still closed here, then of course you have a problem," she said in Berlin.
The announced tightening of travel regulations in the EU roughly follow existing German regulations for entry.
In the Schengen area, to which 26 European countries belong, there is actually freedom of movement without stationary border controls.
However, at the beginning of the pandemic, a number of countries had, in some cases uncoordinated, closed borders or initiated controls.
At the German border with Poland, traffic was jammed for tens of kilometers.
Perishable goods did not reach their destination, and cross-border commuters had problems getting to work.
The EU Commission absolutely wants to avoid repetition.
However, some countries are already controlling their borders again, including Hungary, Austria and Denmark.
And now the mutations of the coronavirus discovered in Great Britain and South Africa are triggering new fears because they could be more contagious than previous variants.
Germany is pushing for more tests on commuters
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn strictly rejected border controls or closings within the EU.
If commuters could no longer come to Luxembourg, for example, the health system there would collapse, he warned on Deutschlandfunk.
Germany urges commuters to be tested more often.
Merkel said that they are also in talks with the countries of origin.
There are still problems with vaccination in many EU countries.
At the video summit, there were many questions about transparency and delivery schedules for the various vaccines, reported an EU representative.
Because the companies Biontech and Pfizer can deliver less vaccine than planned at short notice, some vaccination appointments have been canceled in Germany.
The Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz wrote on Twitter that at the video summit everyone agreed that vaccines should be delivered as soon as possible.
He expects AstraZeneca's vaccine to be approved no later than next week.
The EU Commission also expects new vaccines and larger quantities soon and is urging the 27 states to set ambitious goals.
By summer, 70 percent of adults in the EU are said to be immunized against the virus, and by March 80 percent of people over the age of 80 and of the nursing and health workers.
Merkel was cautious.
The Chancellor merely affirmed that everyone in Germany wanted to be offered a vaccination offer by the end of summer - that is, by September 21st.
Von der Leyen announced that the EU Commission wanted to work out plans for how non-EU countries could be supplied with vaccines.
"It is in our best interest to share vaccine with the world early," she said.
This is in the very best European interest.
If the pandemic lasts longer and spreads in other parts of the world, the risk of mutations also increases.
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cop / dpa / Reuters