How many more countries will be exempted from quarantine? EU could SUE UK for not exempting all 27 nations amid confusion over Covid-19 checks on travellers
- The UK’s latest move could see the European Union take strong legal action
- EU wants Britain to exempt all 27 nations from covid-19 checks, not just France
- Eurosceptics have urged the government to take their own course of action
European Union chiefs have threatened to sue the UK for not exempting all its member states from coronavirus border checks.
Boris Johnson last week announced a blanket 14-day quarantine period for all travellers entering the country to stem the spread of infection from overseas.
But the government is preparing to strike a deal with long-standing ally France to exclude their citizens from the restrictive measures.
The bilateral agreement sparked fury in Brussels, which insisted Britain must also extend this offer to the bloc’s other 26 countries.
Commission bosses even signalled they are prepared to wage a legal war and haul the UK before the European Court of Justice if it does not comply.
Boris Johnson is facing EU pressure after latest steps taken regarding Covid-19 checks
Both Mr Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron produced a joint statement following a phone call on Sunday detailing an exemption for travellers from France
A commission spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: ‘If there was a member state that was discriminating and was not in line with EU legislation, the commission would intervene.’
The Prime Minister has come under pressure from his own backbenches to swat away these threats and press ahead with the plans to tighten border restrictions and wrestle down the pandemic.
Arch-Eurosceptic Iain Duncan Smith told the newspaper: ‘So what? We make the judgement about what works for the greater safety of people in the UK not them.’
The move from the EU has come amid concerns that British people returning home from Florida face being quarantined while French travellers entering the country would not.
Ministers also said that if citizens on the continent are once again able to freely move between states, they can simply bypass the country in which they reside and travel from France instead.
Iain Duncan Smith feels the UK must choose its own appropriate action on the matter, regardless of any possible consequences
Both Mr Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron produced a joint statement following a phone call on Sunday detailing an exemption for travellers from France.
A European Commission spokesman said that Britain is still subject to EU free movement rules while it is in the transition period before leaving the bloc at the end of the year.
‘Restrictions to free movement, as well as lifting restrictions, have to comply with the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination,’ he said.
‘We would expect that the UK in this case would apply the same kind of exemptions to arrivals from other member states, which are in a similar epidemiological situation as France.’
Under the Government’s plans, all people arriving at airports, ports and on Eurostar trains will be required to provide an address at which they will immediately self-isolate for 14 days to ensure they are coronavirus-free.
The authorities will conduct spot checks, with punishments of up to £1,000 fines and deportation for those breaching quarantine.