The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen estimated this Thursday evening that “All non-essential travel should be strongly discouraged”, “Because of the very serious health situation” linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The leader, however, claimed that he was “Of the utmost importance to continue to make the single market work”, that is to say to continue to allow the transport “Fluid essential workers and goods across borders” countries within the European Union. Regarding the EU’s external borders, “We will offer additional security measures for essential travel to Europe, for example by requiring a test before departure”, she added, after a videoconference summit of 27 member states.
Variants at the heart of the EU’s concerns
“We are more and more worried about different variants ” coronavirus, admitted Ursula von der Leyen. The European Epidemics Agency (ECDC), which raised its assessment of the health risks associated with these more contagious variants of the coronavirus (British, South African), had already called on European leaders on Thursday to be ready to take measures measures “More stringent” in the “Weeks to come”. In particular, it considered that “Non-essential travel should be avoided”.
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Several countries have already tightened their restrictions in recent days, such as Germany on Tuesday. The Netherlands announced a curfew from 9 p.m. on Thursday evening, Portugal a closure of its schools.
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