Holidays abroad are possible – Switzerland and three neighboring countries want to open borders

There should be freedom of travel again between Switzerland and the three neighboring countries Germany, France and Austria as soon as possible: Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) agreed on this principle on Monday and Tuesday in telephone calls with her counterparts from the corresponding countries. The goal was to coordinate well with one another, the Department of Justice announced on request. Depending on how the situation develops, the border openings should take place at some point in the next few weeks in a coordinated manner.

For the time being, no issue is opening the borders to Italy. Switzerland is in a similar situation to France, Germany and Austria regarding the Corona epidemic, explains a spokesman for the Department of Justice. The situation is different with Italy, especially since full freedom of travel has not even been restored there inland.

According to blick.ch The border openings also mean that summer holidays in Germany, Austria or France could be possible. Tourist reasons will therefore soon be possible again for trips to these countries. The opening will take place mutually, so that, for example, German tourists in Switzerland could also go on vacation, as Philipp Schwander, media spokesman for the Department of Justice, told blick.ch. “It is agreed that normalcy should return as soon as possible.”

And there is also good news for binational lovers: unmarried couples should soon be let across the border again, like CH Media reported. It will soon be possible for holiday home owners to cross the border again.

But there are still many points that need to be regulated bilaterally. State Secretary Mario Gattiker was commissioned to work out the exact details with the three countries. “Specific agreements are needed with each country,” Agnès Schenker, spokeswoman for Federal Councilor Keller-Sutter told CH Media. Schenk can therefore not give any information about the exact time when the borders were opened.

Merkel gives hope

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also given hope that the borders with neighboring countries will gradually open up. Changes in border controls must always be made in cooperation with the neighbors, said Merkel on Tuesday, according to information from the German press agency from participants, in a virtual meeting of the Union faction in the Bundestag.

If there is an infection, there is a clear perspective for restoring the Schengen system, Merkel said. The topic will be discussed this Wednesday. The question of the quarantine at the respective entry must also be clarified – the government also knows here that there must be a perspective.

In Germany, Armin Laschet, Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and candidate for the CDU chairmanship, is pushing for faster border openings. “Rules are now needed to protect people from the spread of the corona virus, but not to stop at national borders,” he said Süddeutsche Zeitung. North Rhine-Westphalia is “in close contact with our neighbors in Belgium and the Netherlands” in order to “enable cross-border tourism again in the future”.

(fre / red)

Posted at 9:14 pm today-