Slovakia and Its Neighbours May Open Their Common Borders Soon
Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria may soon open their common borders and to create a travel zone between the three, for the citizens of the three.
n a recent interview for local media, Martin Klus of Freedom and Solidarity (SaS), the state secretary at the Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry said that the Czech Republic and Austria are discussing a possible relaxation of the situation on the borders between these countries,
“If some kind of little Schengen is created, it may be here. I’m an optimist that it can happen within two months,” he said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Czech Republic Tomáš PetÅ™íÄek confirmed the negotiations on such a topic.
“We are continuing negotiations with Austrians and Slovaks,” the Minister wrote in a blog post.
However, the Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic, when asked regarding the issue, he said that Slovakia could only open its borders if the state of the Coronavirus infections in the surrounding countries is as favourable as in Slovakia.
“The sooner other countries are doing as well as we are, the sooner we can open borders,” the PM said, adding that the rate of infections in the neighbouring countries is currently about ten times higher than in Slovakia.
If Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia open their borders, they will be following the example of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia which have decided to open their common borders so their citizens can freely move between the three, as of May 15.
The decision came upon an assertation that the situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic and the level of infections is similar in all three Baltic states, while at the same time abolishing a requirement of two weeks quarantine for travellers. Yet, border controls at the common borders will remain in effect; therefore, travellers must carry their documents with them as they will go through document verification procedures.
A similar idea of a travel zone is being discussed by Greece, Cyprus and Israel, which are considering setting up a “corona corridor” as a common effort to revive the tourism sector which has been highly affected by the pandemic.
The move comes in an effort to attract tourists who under certain circumstances are not willing to travel far in the coming months, but might be more open to visiting neighbouring countries, according to Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin.
