EU targets ‘cacophony’ of travel rules to avoid border curbs

EU regulators pushed to reduce the risk of internal travel disruptions resulting from coronavirus-induced border closures. In a sign of concern that a resurgence of the pandemic could trigger renewed barriers to cross-border movement within the 27-nation bloc, the EC outlined ways for EU governments to cooperate more closely over travel restrictions. “Our right to move freely in the EU has been heavily impacted by the pandemic,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said on Friday in Brussels. “For the many citizens who rely on frictionless travel every day, the cacophony of national rules in the EU is overwhelming. We want to simplify things.” The pandemic has forced EU regulators into a political balancing act between respecting member countries’ responsibility for health policy and protecting the bloc’s principle of free movement of people. Airlines have been vocal critics of the patchwork of national approaches in the EU to curbing the Covid-19 pandemic. Lufthansa would like more regulatory consistency and predictability, spokesman Helmut Tolksdorf said Friday. The initiative by the commission, the EU’s executive arm, needs the approval of member-country governments. It would amount to a non-binding recommendation covering their actions in the field of health and travel.<br/>