Monday night, during his speech, Emmanuel Macron announced several drastic measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which will take effect Tuesday at noon. Among them, the closure of the borders of the Schengen area and the European Union for 30 days. Telephone meetings with European leaders are scheduled for Tuesday at 5 p.m. But why close from the rest of the world?
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All entry of non-EU nationals will be prohibited, with the exception of the British, Swiss, and Norwegian. In Brussels as in Paris, it is explained that the virus already exists between European countries and that we should not overload their health systems even more, in particular because there are areas where we do little testing - such as Balkans or North Africa for example.
Be confined to the outside to be more flexible inside the EU
The European Commission will therefore propose Tuesday evening a closure vis-à-vis the rest of the world for a month. A restriction applied in France a few hours in advance. But behind this measure, there is clearly a political intention: to reassure citizens and limit the closings of internal borders which, for the moment, are falling in a cascade: Spain, Germany, Hungary, etc.
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The hope, explains a European source, is that by confining ourselves vis-à-vis the outside, we can be more flexible on the inside. Because Brussels wants to preserve the single market and the movement of goods. At a minimum, the committee is calling for open and express crossings between countries for medical supplies and food. A diplomat concluded: "Solidarity with Europe must be stronger than vis-à-vis the outside world, otherwise our project no longer makes any sense".