Schengen members and associated states are invited to extend the restrictions until May 15.
"The experience of Member States and other countries exposed to the pandemic shows the measures applied to fight the spread of the virus require more than 30 days to be effective."
Based on this assessment, the European Commission invites the 30 involved states to restrict travels. Explaining that te be effective, this measure has to be taken by every state geographicaly involved in the area. Currently Sweden and The Netherlands are still not applying the lock down in their countries and some flights have been authorized to the European Union. The previous release on restriction in travels was issued on March 16 and concerned 30 days.
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, declared: “The current situation compels us to call for a prolongation of the restriction on non-essential travel to the EU. While coordinated action is key at the external borders, we also need to work together at the internal borders to make sure our internal market continues to function properly, and that vital products such as food, medicines and protective equipment can reach their destination without delay. We will continue assisting Member States in all these strands of work.”
For now, the pandemic is still spreading in the European Union.