The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, assured this Thursday thatmost EU countries will lift borders “gradually”next June 15, and others, such as Spain, will delay it until “the end of June” for epidemiological reasons.
“We want to do it in a coordinated and cooperative way, and avoid unilateral movements“, stressed the minister in statements to Efe after participating in a meeting with 12 other foreign ministers from the European countries that signed the Schengen Agreement, which includes 26 countries.
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According to González Laya, the ministers have agreed “thegradual lifting of restrictions at European borders“A process that Spain has insisted on will be carried out with similar epidemiological criteria” to protect the health of our citizens and knowing that the restrictions that we lift today we can reintroduce if the health situation deteriorates. “
Furthermore, ministers have addressed the issue of opening the EU’s external borders, an area in which “there is still work to doto look for uniform criteria that we all apply to lift restrictions to third countries, “explained the minister.
The countries of theThe European Union agreed on June 5 to lift restrictions throughout this monththat apply between them due to the pandemic, except Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom and Sweden.
The decision was made at a meeting of interior ministers in which “a majority” of countries made it clear that from then until June 15 they would lift border controls, while “others” agreed to do so “before the end of the month” .
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