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HEALTH-VIRUS-GERMANY-AUSTRIA-CZECH-FRANCE
Germany not ruling out French border checks over virus
BERLIN, Feb 15, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Germany on Monday would not rule out
expanding new travel controls to its French border with coronavirus variants
surging in the Moselle region, after Paris urged against border closures.
Asked about the situation in France, Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen
Seibert said Berlin was “continuing to monitor the situation and continually
reviewing our measures to fight the pandemic”.
He added that border closures were “not normal” and a “last resort”, but
said Germany was “in a situation where we need to do everything to prevent
more aggressive mutations of the virus spreading as quickly in Germany as
they have elsewhere”.
Seibert’s comments came hours after French European Affairs Minister
Clement Beaune urged Germany not to close its borders with France.
“We do not want Germany to shut the border completely,” said Beaune after
Berlin introduced tough checks at its borders with Austria and the Czech
Republic over the weekend.
“We will do everything to avoid an uncoordinated decision and a nasty
surprise,” Beaune said.
He added that any closures should be introduced in coordination with
France and include as “wide-reaching exceptions as possible” in order to
protect cross-border workers.
Germany partially closed its borders with the Czech Republic and Austria’s
Tyrol on Sunday over a troubling surge in coronavirus mutations, defying
condemnation from the European Union.
Under the new rules, only Germans or non-German residents are allowed
through.
Exceptions are made for essential workers in sectors such as health and
transport, as well as for urgent humanitarian reasons, according to the
German interior ministry.
Everyone must be able to provide a recent negative coronavirus test.
The checks led to long traffic jams at border crossings on Monday morning,
with some drivers having to wait several hours.
A surge in cases of the South African and Brazilian variants of the
coronavirus in eastern French regions such as Moselle has prompted
speculation that similar checks may be introduced on the French-German
border.
The European Union condemned Germany’s curbs, with EU Justice Commissioner
Didier Reynders tweeting that the European Commission was “concerned about
recent unilateral decisions” on travel.
France’s Beaune also bemoaned the “lack of a discussion” between Berlin
and the European Commission over the checks.
Yet a spokesman for the German interior ministry insisted Monday that the
German policy combined “European thinking with local needs”.
BSS/AFP/BZC//1837HRS