Merkel traveled to a meeting with Johnson on his landswitz on Friday.
With tightened entry restrictions and Brexit hurdles, there were no easy issues on the agenda.
Checkers - Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has promised British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that she will soon ease the strict entry restrictions for Great Britain due to the spread of the Delta variant of the corona virus.
You assume that the country will be downgraded from virus variant area to high incidence area "in the very foreseeable future", she said today after meeting Johnson at his country estate in Checkers near London.
Merkel worried about the high number of spectators in London
However, she was concerned about the planned hosting of the semi-finals and the final of the European Football Championship in London's Wembley Stadium in front of 45,000 and 60,000 spectators, respectively.
She pointed out that significantly fewer spectators had been admitted to the games in Munich.
“The UK government will make its decisions.
But I am worried and skeptical whether that is a good thing and not a little bit. "
Johnson pointed to the well-advanced corona vaccination campaign in the UK. "The bottom line is that we have built a sizable wall here in the UK through the vaccination program," he said.
Great Britain currently has the highest number of new corona infections in Europe and is classified by Germany as the only European country besides Portugal as a virus variant area.
This means that no British citizens without a place of residence in Germany may not be transported to Germany by airlines, train or bus companies.
Those who are allowed to enter must be in quarantine for 14 days - even if they are fully vaccinated or have recovered.
In the event of a downgrade to a high incidence area, travelers can be exempt from quarantine with a proof of vaccination or recovery or be exempt from quarantine after five days.
Johnson: Close relationship despite Brexit hurdles
Another topic at the meeting was the relationship between Germany and the UK after Brexit. Johnson was convinced that the UK can deepen its relationship with Germany after Brexit, despite tensions with the EU. "With good will and patience we can clarify that," said Johnson today about the conflicts with the EU over special rules for Northern Ireland at the joint press conference with Merkel.
The EU had only met London a few days ago in a dispute over the import of chilled meat products to Northern Ireland and had extended a transition period. Due to different hygiene rules, such products should actually no longer have been imported from England, Scotland and Wales to Northern Ireland from July onwards. There was now a three-month delay. “Imagine if Bratwurst could not be brought from Dortmund to Düsseldorf. We really need to sort that out, ”said Johnson. The Chancellor also emphasized that work was still needed to implement the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol.
The background to the conflict is the provision set out in the Brexit agreement that Northern Ireland will de facto remain in the customs union and internal market of the EU even after Brexit.
This is to prevent goods controls between Northern Ireland and the EU member Ireland in order to prevent tensions in the former unrest province.
But controls now have to be carried out instead between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
This leads to difficulties in intra-UK trade, for which London and Brussels hold each other responsible.
"However, this should not stand in the way of a closer bilateral relationship between the UK and Germany," said Johnson.
Both countries want to hold annual joint cabinet meetings and strengthen their exchange programs.
dpa
