The European borders are gradually opening up, but in a dispersed order. On June 3, Italy will reopen its borders to tourists from the European Union, by canceling the compulsory quarantine. In Germany, the border with Luxembourg has been open since Saturday, and the Federal Republic is now looking for a similar agreement with Denmark. As for France, nothing has yet been done.
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Tourism weight
The economic weight of tourism weighs on decisions: this sector represents 10% of GDP at European level, more than 20% in some countries. "To the recession, we must not add the total collapse because of missed tourism," says Enrico Letta, former chairman of the board in Italy and professor at Science-Po, invited Monday from Europe 1. "It will be slow , and of course you have to be careful. But I hope that the whole of Europe will eliminate its borders in the coming weeks, "he added.
The 27 tackle the subject of coordination
In Brussels, we are delighted to see the borders reopening faster than expected. On Wednesday, the Commission presented guidelines to allow tourism to resume. Obviously, the evolution of the epidemic must allow this, and countries must then recreate confidence by securing the facilities, the Commission is told.
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Several EU countries regret that the reopening has not yet taken place in a coordinated manner. "It is essential that we can have coordinated decisions at European level, especially on the infra-Schengen. This is not the case today," Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said on Saturday, notably reacting to the reopening of the borders of Italy. The subject of coordination will be discussed Wednesday at a meeting of 27 tourism ministers.