De-escalation

Borders in certain Spanish regions could open earlier than in others

Spain's foreign affairs minister, Arancha González Laya. | RNE

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma28/05/2020 12:28

Spain's foreign affairs minister, Arancha González Laya, said on Thursday that the government is not ruling out the possibility of an "asymmetric" opening of borders. This would allow regions in a better position to control coronavirus to welcome foreign tourists earlier than other regions. "We are not excluding the possibility that opening may be made asymmetrically, as the de-escalation is itself asymmetric."

The minister stressed the importance of the criteria for enabling this opening. The government wants agreement on these criteria with other European countries. "One could imagine an asymmetric opening of movement within the Schengen area, but this is not as important as the criteria." The European Commission's recommendations, she noted, state that the most important issue is to define under what conditions borders can be reopened.

There needs to be agreement between European partners. If each country were to decide its own criteria, this could result in "discrimination and a fragmentation of the Schengen zone".