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After the discovery of a variant of the corona virus that is rampant in Great Britain, the votes in the grand coalition for increased border controls also increase in the EU.
Since the mutated virus strain found in Great Britain is apparently much more contagious, it is right to protect the population as much as possible from entry into Germany, said Union parliamentary group vice-president Thorsten Frei WELT.
"Stricter border controls and entry stops from there as well as a strict test and quarantine regime for returning German citizens seem to me to be absolutely necessary against this background," said the CDU politician.
The course of the pandemic shows that if there is a strong incidence gradient or if there are mutations, one has to deviate from the waiver of border controls in the Schengen area.
The recently discovered coronavirus variant is up to 70 percent more contagious than the previously known form, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
The virologist Christian Drosten from the Berlin Charité said on Monday on Deutschlandfunk that this was only an estimate.
It is still unclear whether the new variant can actually be transferred more quickly.
To protect against the mutation, passenger planes coming from Great Britain are initially no longer allowed to land in Germany until December 31.
"Entry stops must be put into effect immediately"
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The CDU interior politician Alexander Throm spoke out in favor of further travel restrictions.
"We have to buy time before the mutated virus appears here too," said Throm.
Germany acted quickly by cutting off transport links to Great Britain.
"If the mutated virus appears in other EU countries, the connections to these must also be stopped." If travel now poses an even greater risk, further restrictions and border controls are the next logical step.
"Even entry stops by land, which are ensured by border controls, must be put into effect immediately as a protective measure if the highly infectious mutation of the coronavirus should spread in the immediate neighboring countries such as Italy," said his group colleague Christoph de Vries.
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The SPD member Uli Grötsch is also in favor of increased border controls.
"As long as we do not know exactly what we are dealing with with the mutated virus, I am as a precautionary measure for increased controls on our borders," said the domestic politician.
"German citizens and those who have their usual place of residence in Germany should, however, be able to travel to Germany with their partners after submitting a negative Corona test, for example to celebrate Christmas at home."
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Baden-Württemberg's Interior Minister Thomas Strobl wants to tighten the entry quarantine rules in order to slow down the spread of the mutated virus.
"Generous exceptions for trips abroad from Germany will no longer be allowed in the future," said the CDU politician WELT.
Anyone who travels abroad without a valid reason should no longer be exempt from the quarantine obligation on return.
So far, in the southwest - as in most federal states - there is an exception for people who have been in a risk area for less than 24 hours.
Strobl's Bavarian colleague Joachim Herrmann (CSU) has meanwhile announced that the Bavarian police will "continue to do more checks in the coming weeks in coordination with the federal police in the border area and at border crossings".
The EU Commission must also immediately set the legal requirements in motion to require non-EU citizens to submit a current negative test result at the EU's external borders.
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"The previously planned limitation of the measures to direct entry, ie essentially to air traffic, does not do justice to the dimensions of the problem in my view," said Herrmann WELT.
Left against "national solo efforts"
The DPolG Federal Police Union considers it essential to start immediately with increased border surveillance at the national borders with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.
“This is the only way to prevent British nationals who traveled to mainland Europe last weekend from entering,” said Federal Chairman Heiko Teggatz.
Opposition comes from the left faction.
"Instead of going it alone at national level, a European response would be necessary - in coordination with Great Britain," said domestic policy spokeswoman Ulla Jelpke.
"The quick call for border closings leads to a false sense of security."
The Federal Government has not yet evaluated whether the extensive border closings within the EU last spring actually contributed effectively to reducing the infection rate.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that the Federal Government will continue to monitor the development of the situation with great attention and will further adjust its measures if necessary. There was no concrete assessment of the demands for increased border controls.
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