COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the second assessment of the application of the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU
Date: 2020-05-08
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

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.5.2020  COM(2020) 222 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL on the second 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 that the European Council 
should  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+ area 2. 

On  17  March  2020,  the  aforementioned  States  agreed  on  coordinated  action  at  external 
borders  based  on  the  recommendation  from  the  Commission.  Since  then,  all  EU  Member 
States  (with the exception of  Ireland)  and Schengen Associated States 3 have taken national 
decisions 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  the 
world, 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  a 
coordinated 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 the 
EU+  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  legally 
residing 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 impact 
of  the  restriction  on  societal  functioning  to  the  necessary  minimum,  Member  States  were 
recommended not to apply the restrictions to specific categories of travellers with an essential 
function or need 7. 

1   COM(2020) 115, 16 March 2020. 
2   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  they 
decide to align.  
Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland. 

3  
4   C(2020) 2050, 30 March 2020. 
5   COM(2020) 148, 8 April 2020. 
6  

7   These should include  

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. 

  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 the 

exercise 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 is 
needed and justified. 

II  Developments since the adoption of the Communication on the assessment of the 

travel restriction (8 April 2020)  

The objective of a travel restriction at external borders is to reduce the risk of spread of the 
disease 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 ease 
social distancing measures within their territories, the overall objective of limiting the spread 
of 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  that 
measures 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  the 
European 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 internal 
and external borders, with the aim of eventually returning to unrestricted free movement and 
the 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 

  Passengers in transit;  
  Passengers travelling for imperative family reasons; 
  Persons in need of international protection or for other humanitarian reasons respecting the principle of 

non-refoulement. 

8   Eurocontrol is composed of 41 States worldwide. 
9   www.eurocontrol.int  
10   https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/communication_-

_a_european_roadmap_to_lifting_coronavirus_containment_measures_0.pdf  

2 

 
 
 
                                                                                                                                                         
at the external borders can be relaxed and non-EU residents can resume non-essential travel to 
the EU.  

It  is  also  worth  recalling  that  in  order  to  address  the  serious  problems  caused  by  the 
reintroduction 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 resources 
and  ensured  coordination  at  EU  level.  In  addition,  the  Commission  presented  practical 
guidance  to  ensure  the  continuous  flow  of  vital  goods  across  the  EU  via  green  lanes 11,  to 
facilitate 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  been 
lifted.  

III 

Prolongation of the temporary travel restriction to the EU+ area  

As  mentioned  above,  preliminary  steps  towards  the  easing  of  the  containment  measures  for 
fighting the spread of the pandemic have been taken by some Member States. However, it is 
imperative 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 and 
in 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  the 
COVID-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  are 
effective, 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 the 
development 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 set 
out in the Commission’s Communications of 16 March and 8 April 2020. When applying the 
temporary  travel  restriction,  Member  States  should  follow  the  Guidance  issued  by  the 
Commission  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.  

11   C(2020) 1897, 23 March 2020. 
12  C(2020) 2010, 26 March 2020. 
13   C(2020) 2051, 30 March 2020. 

3