At the same time, the head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, condemned the closure of internal borders by some countries.
Negotiations with EU member countries on further border closures in the context of the coronavirus pandemic are actively under way. This was announced on Friday by the head of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen in an interview with French radio station Europe 1. This is the first interview that von der Leyen has given to Western media since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are currently consulting with all member states on how to proceed in the post-Easter period”, – von der Leyen said, answering the question of what she could say about closing the EU’s external borders for 30 days. She noted that “this measure was very well received by the EU countries.”
“They understood its necessity – in particular, it was aimed at preventing people not residing in the EU from coming there for treatment, while the system of medical care of European countries is already completely overflowing”, – added von der Leyen.
At the same time, she condemned the closure of internal borders in the EU by several countries. “At the very beginning of the crisis, a number of countries tended to worry only about their own problems. Of course, this approach is not desirable. But we have made a lot of efforts to change this mentality,” said the head of the European Commission.
“Let me remind you that at the beginning of the epidemic there were facts of border closures or export bans. This caused various kinds of violations – in particular, the supply of medical equipment, which is so necessary in the current situation. But we have jointly overcome these problems”, – the EC head assured.
“We have launched cooperation and now we see a lot of manifestations of solidarity. In particular, it is the transportation of patients to other countries or provision of medical equipment. We will promote joint procurement of such equipment. So the situation is improving, especially in recent weeks – this also applies to the development of vaccines”, – Ursula von der Leien said.