Most of Europe opened its borders on Monday, easing lockdown restrictions that had been put in place for the sake of the coronavirus pandemic. Countries like Spain still remain closed, fearing a second wave. Spain will allow no foreign tourists until June 21, with exceptions on some Spanish islands. While the travel ban is yet to be lifted, the pre-pandemic modes of travel are a long mile away.
This comes as a result of European Commissioner Ylva Johansson urging European countries to release border controls and gradually open it for other countries starting from July.
The Schengen area of 22 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland operates control-free crossings, but they have been mostly closed for three months to all but goods traffic and critical workers. This move could greatly help with their attempts to recover their economy, since a chunk of their income comes from the entertainment and tourism sector.
Before the crisis, an average of 3.5 million people crossed an internal EU border every day, according to a European Parliament report last year, some 1.7 million of the commuting to work, most of whom are working from home.