Opening borders, a Schengen game plan in the making

Schengen countries are now warming up to easing the restrictions are the borders of Schengen countries. This plan to gradually lift restrictions and ease travel across borders has been discussed on common ground with a cooperative action plan by the Interior Ministers of the European Union Member states.

With the COVID-19 situation expected to mellow down in the coming months, this plan is a precursor to prepare well for normalcy. The meeting of Interior Ministers of EU member states that discussed it was chaired by Mr. Davor Božinović. He is the Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.

The meeting shared views, experiences, and opinions of the ministers in tackling the COVID-19 situation. The joint efforts made by the EU member states were also evaluated.

The opinions that were expressed in the meeting were:

• The gradual opening of the borders must start from the border states that have reduced COVID-19 cases.
• Reintroducing internal border restrictions should be considered as the last resort practice.
• There should be a proper exchange of information. This will facilitate the smoother and speedier movement of goods across the border. The information on health checks of drivers at the border should be shared among the countries of the Union.
• A common platform to disseminate information should be put into use. This will keep all member states aware of what measures each state is implementing. An online platform was recommended.

With the combined efforts of the member nations, surviving COVID-19 and restoring normalcy at the borders will be possible. It will be a start to the restoration of migration overseas, which has so many people waiting to indulge in. EU and particularly Schengen nations are expected to come back to normalcy by the end of this year. Immigration services are however on in many countries even now.

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