Spain goes back and rectifies date of reopening borders with Portugal – World

The Spanish Government clarified this Thursday that the opening of borders to “safe international mobility” will take place from July 1st and not on June 22nd, as the Minister of Tourism had indicated this morning.

Madrid’s change of position takes place after Lisbon asked for “clarification” and expressed be “surprised” with the statements of the government official.

This morning, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, Reyes Maroto, in a meeting with foreign correspondents in Madrid, said that on June 22, when the state of emergency ends in the country, restrictions on the mobility of residents would be eliminated. and land transit with Portugal and France.

A few hours later, the Spanish Government published a “note of clarification” in which it corrects the Minister’s statements and explains that “in accordance with the principle of progressivity, and taking into account the announced commitments to reopen international tourism, secure international mobility will take place from July 1st “.

The note adds that, as of the end of the State of emergency, at midnight on June 20, what will be restored will be “mobility within the national territory” of Spain.

With regard to external mobility, recalls that it had previously been established that controls at internal land, air and sea borders “could be extended beyond the state of emergency”.

The Spanish executive claims to be in permanent contact with the European Commission and the Member States to “coordinate and harmonize the progressive elimination of restrictions on controls at intra-European borders”.

The Portuguese Government was “surprised today by the statements of the Spanish minister, after, last weekend, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, indicated that the opening to international tourism would be made from July 1st.

“We were surprised by these statements by the Minister responsible for Tourism [de Espanha], which ‘announces’ the reopening of the border between Portugal and Spain for next June 22, “Augusto Santos Silva told Lusa, stressing that the announcement” does not fit “within the framework of” close cooperation “between the two Governments for common border management.

The head of Portuguese diplomacy added that “whoever decides on the opening of the Portuguese border is naturally Portugal, and Portugal wants to do so in close coordination with the only state with which it has a land border, Spain”, specifying that they were already being requests “clarifications to the Government of Spain”.

“Unfortunately, there are statements by sectoral ministers of the Government of Spain that are not part of this framework of close coordination,” he said, pointing out that, even before, “Spain had unilaterally taken a decision to impose quarantine on people entering Spain and communicated that this quarantine would continue until the end of June “.

The minister stressed that, as the Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, has already said, the Portuguese Government “works on the horizon of being able to have an evolution in the common border management from the end of June”, date until which the quarantine decreed by Madrid.

“From the Portuguese point of view, the land border with Spain is closed, with the exceptions that are known, during the month of June. Any change in this situation must be agreed beforehand between the two governments,” he said, reiterating that Portugal is ” naturally available “to” make decisions jointly with Spain in the management of the common border “.

Spanish authorities closed the borders in mid-March, with the entry into force of the state of emergency, except for residents, cross-border workers and truck drivers, in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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