The majority of EU Interior Ministers have agreed to reopen their countries’ borders by 15 June. Following the Council meeting, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said that the Commission aims to return to a fully functional Schengen Zone by the end of June, but also noted that some Member States expressed reluctance “to take that decision now and would like to follow that development a bit further”. According to POLITICO, this included Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria. Similarly, Spain has already announced that its land borders with France and Portugal will not be reopened before July. Interior Ministers also agreed to end a ban on arrivals from outside the EU by early July (Sources: Agence Europe, POLITICO).
Under the Temporary Framework, the Commission has again approved State aid schemes launched by Member States to support their economies: A €5 billion French “umbrella” scheme to support research, development, testing infrastructures and production of coronavirus relevant products.