European Union Unveils Changes to ID Check-Free Travel Area

The European Union announced changes to Europe’s ID check-free travel area to help ease some of the burden placed on the tourism industry when coronavirus restrictions were implemented.

According to The Associated Press, EU officials are looking to allow people and goods to move freely between the Schengen area’s 26 countries—22 EU nations plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland—without border checks.

When the COVID-19 outbreak reached Europe, 19 of the member countries in the Schengen area closed their borders to other nations to curb the spread. To create assurance for all nations, the new plan aims to beef up Europe’s external borders to ensure internal borders can be opened safely.

The European Commission also revealed its proposal involved an improved monitoring system to help restore trust between member countries. There has also been talk of adding new nations to the Schengen area, including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Cyprus.

“Terrorism will not end. We will have new pandemics probably, we will have other challenges coming,” EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said. “What we need is to prepare the governance of the whole Schengen area to be able to face and address these challenges, to secure our citizens while also having free movement. We are not stronger than our weakest link.”

Of the estimated 420 million people who live in the Schengen area, around 1.7 million reside in one country and work in another. The Commission estimates the border restrictions and closures could result in additional costs of $6-to-22 billion a year if not lifted.

Last month, the European Union reached a deal approving COVID-19 certificates that would help reopen non-essential travel across the 27-nation bloc this summer.