March 18, 2020

Anna Murray 

The European Union announces that the external borders are temporarily closed based on the conference call with the countries’ leaders on March 17th. The measure will last at least for 30 days, with all of the 27 member states being affected. On the other hand, the United Kingdom is not included. 

Brussels expects the members such as France or Spain could reopen the internal borders after the decision of closing external ones. According to Von Der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, she is looking forward to “a positive move over the next phase." By reinstating the internal borders, the E.U. hopes for an accessible way to integrate response for COVID-19.

However, Italy, owning the most infected COVID-19 cases in Europe, still locks down the country. With its total deaths reaching at least 3,405 on March 20th, which surpasses China, Italy becomes the country hit by COVID-19 the most. On the other side, as the second worst-affected county in Europe, Spain banned the cars from driving through its borders from France and Portugal. 

Photo:Webshot.