Jason MoorePalma09/06/2020 18:19
TW
3

Rather ironic that it is Brussels who will decide when and if British tourists can return to Balearic beaches this summer but that is what the Spanish government has decided. The European Union, locked in Brexit talks, will have the final say over the holiday plans of millions of Britons.

The first group of German tourists are due to arrive on the island on Monday as part of a test programme and up to 10,000 will be arriving over the coming days. The Balearic government has said that the islands and Germany have a similar level of the coronavirus and this is one of the principal reasons why the Germans have been allowed to jump the queue. In the case of the British the situation is more complicated; the government´s quarantine plan coupled with the still relatively high rate of the virus has meant that the British are on hold until next month.

Spain wants a common policy amongst all European Union countries unlike other states such as Greece and Portugal which have warmed to the idea of the so-called safe corridors which are being proposed by the British government. The Balearic government wants to see a return of British tourists sooner rather than later especially in Minorca and Ibiza where the market is key. The irony in this whole episode is that as Britain prepares for a total withdraw of from the European Union and the end of rule from Brussels it is Brussels which decide whether Britons can have a holiday in the sun.