On Wednesday, Brussels called upon six EU member states, including Hungary, to lift their tight COVID border restrictions in order to maintain the free movement of people and goods within the Union – Euronews reports.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Hungary have been given 10 days to respond to the European Commission’s concerns.
Germany is also being criticized because entering the country through its different borders is treated disparately. At its border with the Austrian Tirol region and its border with the Czech Republic, only German citizens and permanent residents of Germany can enter, while at its border with France, commuters are still allowed. Even the German ambassador in Vienna was summoned to justify the “unnecessary measures that do more harm than good.”
Meanwhile, the pandemic situation is worsening in several regions of the continent. Hospitals are overwhelmed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The number of daily registered infections is increasing day by day in Hungary too, but with no major change. Still, because of the trend, the country has been labeled as dangerous.
Daily numbers are increasing also in France, with the number of serious cases at a twelve-week high. Almost 3,500 COVID-19 infected patients are being treated in ICU. The French Government is trying to stem the spread of the mutant coronaviruses, but, despite the urging of experts, wants to avoid a nationwide quarantine again.
The lifting of the lockdown will start in the UK next week, but several restrictions will remain in effect despite their very effective vaccination campaign. Schools will open first. In Ireland, for example, some students can go back to school already next week, while students in England will be able to go back the following week.
Title image: German border police speak to bus passengers seeking to enter the country from Austria’s Tirol region last week. (Photo: Lennart Preiss/Getty Images)
