Don’t repeat unlawful border closures like during Covid

Late yesterday evening, the European Parliament and the EU Member States did not manage to reach an agreement on the Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act (IMERA), an instrument aimed at strengthening the free movement of people and ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant goods to all EU citizens.

“It’s a shame that the EU Member States are refusing to take into account the lessons learned from the pandemic, “ regretted Andreas Schwab MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman in the Internal Market Committee and the Parliament's negotiator on the legislation. “Some Member States are willing to repeat the errors made during the COVID-19 crisis, by not ensuring that nurses, technicians for ventilators or even specialists for nuclear power stations can cross the border in the event of a future crisis,” he stated.

“As long as Member States care more about their privileges than about the security of supply for their citizens, this proposal will fail. The Parliament will not compromise on this issue,” said Schwab.