- The Government insists that it will defend “the need to adopt coordinated measures” in the EU
The Government of Spain announced on Sunday evening that, as a result of the appearance of a new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, it will increase the control of PCR tests to people from the UK who arrive at it’s airports and ports.
As such, Spain has ruled out, for the time being, the suspension of travel to and from the United Kingdom after the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy, Ireland, France and Sweden all decided to do so, due to the spread of the new strain of the coronavirus.
The Spain government insists that it will defend ” the need to adopt coordinated measures on flights from the United Kingdom” at the meeting of experts from the European Union mechanism for Integrated Political Response to Crises (RPIC) that is die to be held this Monday at 11.00 am.
“Spain maintains its position that any decision in this sense must be common and avoid unilateralism,” Moncloa reported.
Furthermore, the Government said that, in order to travel to Spain, “it is mandatory that all passengers from countries or areas at risk undergo a Diagnostic Test for Active Infection, PDIA, for SARS-Cov-2 in the previous seventy-two hours prior to their arrival that shows a negative result “.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, pointed out on social media that Spain has asked the EU for “a coordinated response to this situation.” “The objective is to protect the rights of community citizens, but by coordinating our response,” she wrote in a message posted on Twitter.
She also assured that the Government” awaits the urgent response of the European institutions, but anticipates that if there were not, it would act in defense of the interests and rights of Spanish people.”
Meeting in the EU
On Sunday EU countries convened a meeting by videoconference to address the joint response to the new strain of coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom.
In addition, Brussels has convened a meeting of experts from the EU Mechanism for Integrated Political Response to Crises (RPIC) for 11:00 this Monday. The RPIC is in charge of monitoring the coronavirus crisis and dealing with how to respond in a coordinated manner within the EU framework.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have spoken by telephone to other EU leaders to agree on a common response.
British Health Minister Matt Hancock acknowledged that the new strain of coronavirus detected in England is “out of control” and that is why he has acted “quickly and decisively”, referring to the confinement imposed in London and the southeast of England. The new strain is not more serious, but it does spread more quickly.
