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Berlin is seeking to continue the almost total ban despite the fact that no formal decision has been taken by the European Union on this matter. EU interior ministers held talks yesterday to discuss a more coordinated approach to measures relating to international travel. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said yesterday: “To protect our population, there should be no entry from regions where these variants of the virus are endemic.”
He said the measures were “under discussion” in Berlin and said the influential capital would continue to implement its measures even if similar EU restrictions are not agreed by the bloc.
“We cannot hope for a European solution to live up to our expectations anytime soon, so let’s prepare national measures”, he added.
Other EU governments have announced their own measures to tackle the spread of new coronavirus variants, including the mutant strain discovered in Britain.
Belgium last week banned all non-essential travel, within and outside the country, by land, air and sea.
And the Netherlands have introduced a ban on inbound flights from the UK, South Africa and South America.
Portugal, which is currently one of the worst affected states in the world, has announced it will close its border with Spain for two weeks from Friday.
But the EU-wide travel measures, which are currently being worked out, should not be as draconian as Eurocrats are fighting to keep the bloc’s free movement area intact.
Brussels wants to prevent certain European capitals from closing their borders to their EU neighbors.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said cross-border travel, except for essential workers and truckers, should be “strongly discouraged”.
Last week its Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders added: “There are currently a very high number of new infections in many Member States, so there is an urgent need to reduce the risk of travel-related infections.
“Closing the borders will not help, common measures will.
EU countries have agreed that new measures, such as increased testing and mandatory quarantine periods, would be vital to ensure borders remain open while the spread of the virus is curbed.
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All measures are likely to mirror those introduced by France, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands.
All four states require all intra-EU travelers, with a few exemptions, to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure.
Belgium has imposed a 10-day quarantine period, with testing on the first and seventh day, to counter the new variants.
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