All travelers from China must be tested upon arrival in Italy. Meloni wants tests to be carried out throughout the EU on travelers from China, because she fears that Italian measures alone “are not fully effective”.
No EU measures
On Thursday, EU health officials already held a meeting on the situation. So far it has been concluded that no new measures will be taken, says Europe correspondent Stefan de Vries. “They’ve decided it won’t apply to the whole EU.”
For De Vries, it recalls three years ago, when the corona pandemic had just begun. ‘Each Member State then did something individually. Which is now threatening to happen again. Italy is currently alone and the European Union will not introduce border controls with corona tests for travelers from China. The health committee says there is “no immediate danger to Europeans” despite the high number of corona infections in China.
‘Member States are not expecting this’
According to De Vries, there are possibilities for measures to be taken across the Union. “If it gets worse and there’s a threat, there may be the possibility of tighter controls on travelers from China or perhaps banning them.” But there are opposing interests, underlines De Vries. ‘China has just reopened and the Chinese are the main tourists to Europe. Airlines are also increasing the number of flights to and from China. Important economic interests are at stake here and the member states are not in the mood for it,” says the correspondent.