From Berlin to Paris, from Madrid to Stockholm, a question torments Europeans: what will their summer vacation look like? Hundreds of millions of people are wondering if they will be able to cross borders, if they will be tested and, quite simply, if the authorities of their own country will allow them to travel.
At a time of cautious deconfinement, the French – and they are not the only ones in Europe – are waiting for them to be told by the authorities if they can move to their own country. Edouard Philippe dispatched the question when his plan was announced on Monday, promising details for early June. For his part, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs, Heiko Maas, has already warned his fellow citizens that they will not "Will not be able to spend the holidays they generally know, on the beach or in mountain huts".
The countries most directly affected by the pandemic, Italy and Spain are in doubt. With tens of millions of foreign tourists expected each summer, Spain would obviously like to open its borders, but its government says it will not do so without a European agreement before summer. And the guarantee that there is homogeneous control of the epidemic in the countries of origin. For the moment, the idea of the arrival of foreign tourists is therefore, in fact, ruled out.
Internal mobility will not be restored for six weeks between the provinces of the country. And not necessarily to the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, if no protocol is developed for the operation of airports. German operators have complained to the Balearic regional government about this situation and the owners of second homes are upset. "Prepare to have to respect social distancing for a while … including on the beach", furthermore, warned the Minister of Tourism, Reyes Maroto, to his compatriots, who assume that they will not go abroad.
On the Italian side, the deconfinement measures announced for the month of May only authorize movements within regions. Travel beyond borders is not even mentioned. Foreign tourists should, at best, be subject to quarantine upon entry into the country. And drastic limitations are envisaged on the beaches.
Heiko Maas, German Foreign Minister, denounced "a European shallot race to authorize tourist trips first"
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