The commission has fired a warning shot at Westminster’s plans to selectively agree air bridges or safe travel corridors with countries with lower rates of coronavirus infection to restart the UK’s outbound tourism sector.
It is understood Spain, Portugal, Greece, France and Italy are among countries that could open up first, along with several destinations in the Caribbean – such as the Dominican Republic.
However, the European Commission has reiterated foreign secretary Dominic Raab’s warning that the UK’s air bridge plans could yet be subject to legal challenges if they are not deemed to be fair.
A spokesperson for the commission told The Telegraph this week: “There can be no discrimination. This means regions in similar health situations around Europe should benefit from the same treatment.
“We would therefore expect that if the UK decides to lift its restrictions for movement to and from another member state, or a specific area through air bridges, this should apply to all parts of the [European] Union in a similar epidemiological situation.”
Air bridges would allow Britons return from countries with lower rates of coronavirus infection to forgo the UK’s current 14-day quarantine on arrival policy, which is due for its first three-week review on Monday (29 June).
The EU is currently hoping to reopen all of its borders internally by the end of June as the coronavirus pandemic in Europe eases.
Earlier this month, Raab said there was “always a risk of a legal challenge” if air corridors between the UK and some other countries are created.
“There is a risk of legal challenge if you open up for one country and not others, so we want to make sure we can open up as soon as we can safely and responsibly do so,” he said in a BBC Breakfast interview on 18 June.
“If you open up the airports and don’t open up the Eurotunnel, or if you open up to one country but not in relation to others, there’s always a risk of legal challenge.”
