Council of theEuropean Union
Brussels, 13 May 2020
(OR. en)7971/20

JAI 356
FRONT 137
VISA 51
SAN 156
MI 134TRANS 209
COMIX 210
COVER NOTE
From:

Secretary-General of the European Commission,
signed by Mr Jordi AYET PUIGARNAU, Director

date of receipt:

11 May 2020

To:

Mr Jeppe TRANHOLM-MIKKELSEN, Secretary-General of the Council ofthe European Union

No. Cion doc.:

COM(2020) 222 final

Subject:

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEANPARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on thesecond assessment of the application of the temporary restriction on nonessential travel to the EU

Delegations will find attached document COM(2020) 222 final.

Encl.: COM(2020) 222 final

7971/20

GK/cr
JAI.1

EN

EUROPEAN
COMMISSION

Brussels, 8.5.2020
COM(2020) 222 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEANPARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL
on the second assessment of the application of the temporary restriction on non-essential
travel to the EU

ENEN

IIntroduction

On 10 March 2020, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union emphasised theneed for a joint European approach with regard to COVID-19 and a close coordination withthe European Commission.
On 16 March 2020, the Commission adopted a Communication to the European Parliament,
the European Council and the Council on a ‘Temporary restriction on non-essential travel tothe EU’ 1. In this Communication, the Commission recommended that the European Council
should act with a view to the rapid adoption, by the Heads of State or Government of theSchengen Member States together with their counterparts of the Schengen Associated States,of a temporary restriction of non-essential travel from third countries into the EU+ area 2.
On 17 March 2020, the aforementioned States agreed on coordinated action at externalborders based on the recommendation from the Commission. Since then, all EU MemberStates (with the exception of Ireland) and Schengen Associated States 3 have taken nationaldecisions to implement the travel restriction.
To assist Member States, on 30 March 2020 the Commission adopted guidance ‘on how to
implement the temporary travel restrictions, the facilitation of repatriations from across theworld, and on dealing with people whose visas have lapsed as a result of travel restrictions’ 4.
This guidance was elaborated with input from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency(Frontex), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Europol.
On 8 April 2020, as a follow-up to the 16 March Communication, the Commission also
adopted a follow-up Communication ‘on the assessment of the application of the temporary
restriction of non-essential travel into the EU’ 5. In this Communication, the Commission
invited the Schengen Member States and the Schengen Associated States to prolong in acoordinated manner the application of the travel restriction on non-essential travel from third
countries into the EU+ area by another 30 days, i.e. until 15 May 2020.
The temporary travel restriction applies to all non-essential travel from third countries to theEU+ area. Nonetheless, to safeguard the rights of EU citizens and citizens of Schengen
Associated States 6, as well as their family members and third country nationals legallyresiding in the EU, such persons are exempted from the application of the non-essential travel
restriction for the purpose of returning to their homes. In addition, in order to limit the impactof the restriction on societal functioning to the necessary minimum, Member States wererecommended not to apply the restrictions to specific categories of travellers with an essentialfunction or need 7.

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COM(2020) 115, 16 March 2020.
The “EU+ area” includes all Schengen Member States (including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania),
as well as the four Schengen Associated States. It also includes Ireland and the United Kingdom if theydecide to align.
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.
C(2020) 2050, 30 March 2020.
COM(2020) 148, 8 April 2020.
Including UK nationals and nationals of the Participating States to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism(Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Turkey) when repatriated under the Mechanism.
These should include• Healthcare professionals, health researchers, and elderly care professionals;• Frontier workers;• Seasonal workers in agriculture;• Transport personnel;• Diplomats, staff of international organisations, military personnel and humanitarian aid workers in theexercise of their functions;1

Since the recommended period for maintaining a travel restriction at the external borders will
come to an end on 15 May 2020, this Communication assesses whether a further extension isneeded and justified.
IIDevelopments since the adoption of the Communication on the assessment of thetravel restriction (8 April 2020)

The objective of a travel restriction at external borders is to reduce the risk of spread of thedisease through travel to the EU. The month of April has seen a continued drastic reduction in
global travel, both to and from the EU, as well as within the EU. On 3 May 2020,
Eurocontrol 8 reported an overall reduction of 91% in the number of flights, which translates
into 27,754 fewer flights compared to 2019 9. At present, remaining flights are mainly limited
to cargo. Similar trends are also being witnessed for other modes of transport, such as ferry,coach and rail.

While some EU and Schengen Associated States are taking their first cautious steps to easesocial distancing measures within their territories, the overall objective of limiting the spreadof the Coronavirus via reduced social interaction remains. Moreover, the situation in Europe
as well as the situation worldwide remains very fragile and it cannot be excluded thatmeasures may need to be reintroduced in the event of a resurgence in infections.
On 15 April 2020, the President of the European Commission and the President of theEuropean Council set out a ‘Joint European Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment
measures’ 10. The Joint Roadmap proposes a phased approach to the opening of our internaland external borders, with the aim of eventually returning to unrestricted free movement andthe normal functioning of the Schengen area. Internal border controls will need to start being
lifted gradually and in a coordinated manner before, in a second stage, temporary restrictions

••
•

8910

Passengers in transit;
Passengers travelling for imperative family reasons;
Persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons respecting the principle ofnon-refoulement.
Eurocontrol is composed of 41 States worldwide.
www.eurocontrol.int
https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication__a_european_roadmap_to_lifting_coronavirus_containment_measures_0.pdf

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at the external borders can be relaxed and non-EU residents can resume non-essential travel tothe EU.
It is also worth recalling that in order to address the serious problems caused by thereintroduction of internal border controls and travel restrictions, and to limit the impacts on
the functioning of the internal market, the Commission mobilised all the necessary resourcesand ensured coordination at EU level. In addition, the Commission presented practicalguidance to ensure the continuous flow of vital goods across the EU via green lanes 11, tofacilitate air cargo 12 and to guarantee the exercise of the free movement of workers 13. These
guidelines have provided important mitigation of the impact of restrictions on the Single
Market and free movement and should be applied until internal border controls have beenlifted.
III

Prolongation of the temporary travel restriction to the EU+ area

As mentioned above, preliminary steps towards the easing of the containment measures forfighting the spread of the pandemic have been taken by some Member States. However, it isimperative that any action taken is gradual, with different measures being lifted in different
phases. In addition, sufficient time should be left between each phase, as the impacts will only
become measurable over time. Whilst the epidemiological situation within the EU is starting
to show some stabilisation and gives cause for cautious optimism, the risk of a renewed
increase of community transmission remains, particularly if measures are lifted too early andin an uncoordinated manner. Moreover, the situation remains fragile in many third countries,including in countries that normally have substantial travel to and from the EU, with many
countries and regions in earlier stages of exposure to the virus than Europe.
In order to complement the efforts of EU and Schengen States to limit the spread of theCOVID-19 through reduced social interaction, parallel and coordinated action also continues
to be necessary at the external borders of the EU+ area. To ensure that such actions areeffective, they should be implemented by all EU and Schengen States at all external borders,with the same end date, in a uniform manner.
The Commission therefore invites the Schengen Member States and the Schengen
Associated States to prolong the application of the travel restriction on non-essential
travel from third countries into the EU+ area by another 30 days, until 15 June 2020.
Any further prolongation of this period should be assessed in the coming weeks, based on thedevelopment of the epidemiological situation, both inside and outside the EU.
The scope of the extension of the temporary travel restriction should be the same as that setout in the Commission’s Communications of 16 March and 8 April 2020. When applying thetemporary travel restriction, Member States should follow the Guidance issued by theCommission on 30 March 2020. In addition, the Commission recalls point 15 of its
Communication on the implementation of Green lanes of 23 March 2020 and calls on all
States and actors to continue cooperating and applying the implementation guidance on green
lanes to the greatest extent possible at external borders.

111213C(2020) 1897, 23 March 2020.
C(2020) 2010, 26 March 2020.
C(2020) 2051, 30 March 2020.

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