COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the assessment of the application of the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU
Date: 2020-04-08
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU restrictive measure, Schengen Agreement, border control, epidemic, external border of the EU, infectious disease, internal border of the EU, public health, third country, travel

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.4.2020  COM(2020) 148 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the assessment of the application of the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU  
 
 
I 

Introduction  

On 10 March 2020, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union emphasised the 
need for a joint European approach with regard to COVID-19 and a close coordination with 
the 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 to 
the EU’1. In this Communication, the Commission recommended to the European Council to 
act with a view to the rapid adoption, by the Heads of State or Government of the Schengen 
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+ area2. 

On 17 March 2020, those States agreed on coordinated action at the external borders based on 
that  recommendation  of  the  Commission.  All  EU  Member  States  (with  the  exception  of 
Ireland)  and  Schengen  Associated  States3  have  since  then  taken  national  decisions  to 
implement the travel restrictions. 

The temporary travel restriction applies to all non-essential travel from third countries to the 
EU+  area.  At  the  same  time,  to  ensure  that  the  rights  of  the  EU  citizens  and  citizens  of 
Schengen Associated States, their family member and of the third country nationals residing 
legally  in  the  EU  are  respected,  these  groups  are  exempted  from  the  application  of  travel 
restrictions  for  the  purposes  of  returning  to  their  homes.  In  order  to  limit  the  impact  of  the 
restriction  on  the  functioning  of  our  societies  to  the  necessary  minimum,  it  was  stated  that 
Member  States  should  not  apply  the  restrictions  to  specific  categories  of  travellers  with  an 
essential function or need. 

To  assist  Member  States  in  the  implementation  of  the  travel  restrictions,  the  Commission 
adopted on 30 March 2020 guidance on how to implement the temporary travel restrictions, 
the facilitation of repatriations from across the world, and on dealing with people whose visas 
have lapsed as a result of travel restrictions4. 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. 

The Commission Communication of 16 March 2020 recommended that the temporary travel 
restriction  would  apply  initially  for  30  days,  and  that  any  possible  extension  of  this  period 
should be assessed depending on further developments. The decisions by the Member States 
were taken at different dates, but most were in place by 20 March 2020, which means that the 
initial 30-day period of application will come to an end shortly. 

This action at the external border complemented other important steps and measures taken by 
Member  States  to  reduce  the  spread  of  COVID-19  and  respond  to  the  healthcare  needs, 
including a variety of confinements, restrictions on social interaction, and measures at internal 
borders. 

This Communication assesses the developments since the adoption of the Communication of 
16 March and whether an extension is needed and justified 

1   COM(2020) 115, 16 March 2020. 
2   The  “EU+  area”  should  include  all  Schengen  Member  States  (including  Bulgaria,  Croatia,  Cyprus  and 
Romania),  as  well  as  the  four  Schengen  Associated  States.  It  would  also  include  Ireland  and  the  United 
Kingdom if they decide to align.  
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland. 

3  
4   C(2020) 2050, 30 March 2020. 

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II 

Developments since the adoption of the Communication 

The objective of restrictions at the external border is to reduce the risk of spread of the disease 
through travel to the EU. The month of March has seen a drastic reduction in global travel, 
both to and from the EU, as well as within the EU. 

Eurocontrol5  reported  on  31  March  2020  an  overall  reduction  of  86.1%  in  the  number  of 
flights,  which  translates  into  25,948  fewer  flights  (compared  to  31  March  2019) 6.  Overall 
passenger traffic has been almost reduced to zero, the still remaining flights mainly limited to 
cargo flights and repatriation flights. 

A similar trend of passenger traffic can be seen in other modes of transport, such as in ferry, 
coach  and  rail  transport.  For  instance,  cruise  lines  have  effectively  ceased  operating  new 
cruise voyages since early March, so the drop is 100% compared to last year, as there is no 
cruise activity now taking place except for ships returning to port.  

In  addition  to  these  developments  regarding  travel  reduction  at  the  external  borders,  all  EU 
and Schengen Associated States have taken measures within their territory to limit the further 
spread  of  the  virus,  and  some  have  even  reintroduced  internal  border  control.  The 
containment  measures vary in  severity  depending on the health  situation in  the country, but 
overall,  measures  put  in  place  aim  at  limiting  the  spread  of  the  virus  by  reducing  social 
interaction to the minimum. 

The reintroduction of internal border controls, together with different measures across the EU 
affecting  the  normal  operation  of  industry  and  services,  had  a  serious  impact  on  the 
functioning of the internal market. Such measures affect the supply chain, with vital products 
such as food, medicines and protective equipment not reaching their destinations or arriving 
with significant delay. In order to address this problem and to limit to the extent possible any 
impact  on  the  functioning  of  the  internal  market,  the  Commission  has  been  working 
relentlessly  with  Member  States,  mobilising  all  the  necessary  resources  and  ensuring 
coordination  at  EU  level.  It  has  also  presented  practical  guidance  to  ensure  the  continuous 

5   Eurocontrol is composed of 41 States worldwide. 
6   www.eurocontrol.int  

2 

 
 
                                                 
flow of such vital goods across EU via green lanes7, to facilitate air cargo8 and to guarantee 
the exercise of the free movement of workers9. 

III 

Prolongation of the temporary travel restriction to the EU+ area  

The  Commission’s  recommendation  of  16  March  2020  was  to  apply  measures  for  30  days, 
with the possibility of a prolongation of this period.  

The  experience  of  Member  States  and  other  countries  exposed  to  the  pandemic,  shows  that 
the  measures  applied  to  fight  the  spread  of  the  pandemic  requires  more  than  30  days  to  be 
effective and produce the desire results. This is currently confirmed by the situation inside the 
EU.  The  epidemiological  situation  within  the  EU  has  deteriorated  since  16  March.  The 
current  situation  points  to  a  continued  rise  in  the  number  of  new  cases  and  deaths  reported 
across  the  EU+  area.  The  risk  of  increasing  community  transmission  is  assessed  by  the 
European  Centre  for  Disease  Prevention  and  Control  to  be  moderate  if  mitigation  measures 
are in place and very high if insufficient mitigation measures are in place, while the risk that 
the  capacity  of  health  and  social  care  systems  will  be  exceeded  in  the  coming  weeks  is 
assessed as high, even with mitigation measures in place10.    

The  pandemic  has  also  continued  to  take  hold  outside  the  EU,  including  in  countries  that 
normally  have  millions  of  people  travelling  to  and  from  the  EU  each  year.  The  situation  in 
many  third  countries  will  continue  to  evolve  over  the  coming  weeks,  depending  on  the 
measures taken and capacities of those countries to contain the spread of the virus. 

In order to complement the efforts of EU and Schengen States to limit the further spread of 
the virus within the EU+ area, as well as to prevent the virus from further spreading between 
the EU and other countries, parallel and coordinated action continues to be necessary at the 
external borders of the EU+ area. Such action will be an essential aspect of a concerted EU 
exit strategy and the gradual lifting of the containment measures within the EU+ area.  

Action at the external borders can only be effective if decided and 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  in  a  coordinated  manner  the  application  of  the  travel 
restriction on non-essential travel from third countries into the EU+ area by another 30 
days,  until  on  15  May  2020.  Any  further  prolongation  of  this  period  should  be  assessed 
again, depending on developments of the epidemiological situation. 

The scope of the extension of the temporary travel restriction should be the same as that set 
out  in  the  Commission’s  Communication  of  16  March  2020.  When  applying  the  temporary 
travel restriction, Member States should follow the Guidance of the Commission of 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 mentioned 
therein to continue cooperation and applying the implementation guidance on green lanes to 
the greatest extent possible at external borders.  

7   C(2020) 1897. 
8  C(2020) 2010. 
9   C(2020) 2051. 
10  https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/rapid-risk-assessment-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-

pandemic-eighth-update 

3 

 
 
                                                 
The  restrictions  on  non-essential  travel  at  the  external  EU-borders  and  the  measures  taken 
within  the  territory  of  EU  Member  States  and  the  Schengen  Associated  States  have  as  a 
common objective to limit social interaction in order to slow down the spread of the virus and 
respond to healthcare needs. For the removal of these measures to be done most effectively, it 
will need to be based on a coordinated and gradual EU approach.  

4