The coronavirus does not stop at national borders. That is why border controls are the wrong way to deal with the corona crisis. EM Germany President Dr Linn Selle and EM Austria President Dr Christoph Leitl emphasized this in a joint statement and call for European coordination on border closures: “If restrictions are necessary, they should focus on the incidence of infection at a local level and not on national borders. What is currently happening in terms of controls and restrictions endangers production processes and everyday border-crossing activities in the European single market.”

The statement in full text:

“In the fight against the Corona pandemic, we Europeans are all in the same boat. In order to reach the shore safely, we must row together in a well-coordinated manner. The way out of the pandemic is not isolation but enhanced European coordination.

Disproportionate controls based entirely on national borders, such as those we are currently seeing on the German-Austrian border and on Germany’s borders with the Czech Republic, are unlikely to stop virus mutations. Instead, we need EU-wide harmonized measures where incidences are comparable. If restrictions are necessary, they should focus on the incidence of infection at a local level and not on national borders. What is currently happening in terms of controls and restrictions endangers production processes and everyday border-crossing activities in the European single market. We therefore call for more courage and commitment to build a unified European corona strategy in a tightly connected Europe.”