Germans prepare to break for the borders as travel ban is eased

Millions of Germans are rejoicing at the opportunity to indulge two of their favourite passions: football and travel.

After two uncertain months of Covid-19 lockdown, one half of the country will be glued to the Bundesliga on Saturday and the other will be rushing towards reopened borders with France, Switzerland and Austria.

Germany has more borders than any other EU country, and Saturday’s reopenings mark a first, tentative step to allow Europe’s travel champions boost the continent’s ailing tourism sector.

German interior minister Horst Seehofer has struck a deal with his counterparts in Vienna, Bern and Paris to gradually scale back from blanket border controls to spot checks in the coming month.

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“The goal is that from mid-June we want to have free travel in Europe,” said Mr Seehofer, warning that controls could be reimposed if new outbreaks resulted.

Germany closed almost all its borders on March 16th and, since then, has only allowed entry for people with a valid reason to travel: cross-border commuters, truck drivers and medical staff. German authorities see border lockdowns in mid-March as a key reason why it has kept its Covid-19 death rate comparatively low. Germany’s move to reopen borders follows weeks of intensive lobbying from Austria, anxious to boost its key tourism industry.

Officially Berlin still has a warning against any foreign holidays until at least June 14th.

Danish warniness

Germany’s border with Luxembourg is ready to be opened, too, and Berlin is waiting for final agreement from Copenhagen to begin phasing down checks on the German-Danish border. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen said on Thursday evening she still considered the risk too great to allow a full opening.

“I’m puzzled by those who say we can just open wide the borders,” she said in a televised debate with other leaders. “May I remind them that the virus came over the border.”

She signalled concessions for Germans who have rented holiday accommodation in Denmark. With 17 million overnight stays, Germany is one of the biggest sources of tourist revenue for its northern neighbour.

Looking east, Poland has announced it will keep its borders closed until June 12, while the Czech Republic is considering whether to relax border and quarantine rules.

Germany’s borders with the Netherlands and Belgium are effectively already open because of local border agreements, though spot checks are likely to continue.

Mr Seehofer said checks at the EU’s external borders will remain in place until June 15 at the earliest, and that it was too early to ease restrictions with Italy – a Covid-19 hot spot.

Also likely to change in a month’s time are rules requiring arrivals to quarantine for two weeks.

On Friday, Slovenia became the first EU country to declare the end of the epidemic on its territory. Masks and distancing rules still apply but its borders are once again open for travel.

With an eye on the EU free-travel principle, European Council president Charles Michel has urged all EU member states to reopen their internal borders “as soon as possible”.