The German government is planning to lift a travel
warning for tourists for 31 European countries from June 15, ending
an unprecedented directive against all international travel.
Alongside Germany's 27 fellow EU member states, the warning will also
be lifted for Britain and the four non-EU members of the borderless
Schengen zone, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein,
according to a draft policy proposal seen by dpa.
Berlin's plans, which are contingent on continuing positive trends in
the coronavirus pandemic, could be approved by Chancellor Angela
Merkel's cabinet as early as Wednesday.
June 15 is Europe's "D-Day" when it comes to tourism ahead of the
crucial summer season, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told
reporters on Tuesday.
Europe was working towards "a new start" on that date, di Maio told
broadcaster Rai, pointing to the German example.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced the current warning on
March 17, adapting a measure otherwise reserved for troubled conflict
zones and applying it to the entire globe.
A major airlift operation followed, in which the German Foreign
Office brought more than 240,000 stranded tourists back to the
country.
The German warning against all foreign travel is to be replaced by
advice tailored to the risks in individual countries.
The government is pushing for a common EU standard for countries to
assess the situation, and could propose using a metric already in
place within Germany to track infection levels, whereby a locality
must turn to stricter measures if more than 50 new cases of novel
coronavirus are reported per 100,000 people over a seven-day period.
The German draft paper says the European Commission should develop a
procedure to evaluate protective measures taken.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressing a press conference following a metting with international economic and Financial organisations at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic on May 20.