Germany to Start Easing Border Controls

Senators Propose Bill Enabling Trump to Sanction China Over Pandemic

The bill was co-sponsored by eight other senators, including Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Graham said Tuesday that the “hard-hitting” bill sanctions China “until they cooperate with investigators.” “China refuses to allow the international community to go into the Wuhan lab to investigate,” Graham said, referring to the Chinese city where the virus first emerged. “They refuse to allow investigators to study how this outbreak started. I’m convinced China will never cooperate with a serious investigation unless they are made to do so.” “We must determine how the virus came about and take steps, like closing the wet markets, to ensure it never happens again,” he continued. “It’s time we…

BERLIN鈥擲tarting Saturday, Germany will start to relax some border controls introduced in March to slow the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus with the aim of having free travel in Europe from mid-June, Interior Minster Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday.

The tentative step, aimed partly at helping the tourism sector, comes as the European Commission prepares to urge a return to “unrestricted free movement,” though that push will stop if there is a major second wave of infections.

Germany introduced lockdowns in mid-March, early in the outbreak, and has managed to keep the death rate per capita relatively low compared to many of its European neighbors.

Travel agency workers demonstrate close to Berlin’s landmark the Brandenburg Gate in order to point to the economic plight of the touristic sector, claiming for rescue packages to save jobs amid the CCP virus pandemic, Berlin, Germany, on May 13, 2020. (Odd Andersen/ AFP via Getty Images)

Seehofer said that blanket border controls agreed with France, Switzerland, and Austria due to end on May 15 would be extended to June 15, but as many crossings as possible would be reopened and systematic checks would give way to spot checks.

“The goal is that from mid-June we want to have free travel in Europe,” he said, adding that controls could be re-imposed if there are new outbreaks.

Earlier, Austria said its border with Germany would fully reopen in a month. The Alpine country has been lobbying Germany hard to reopen the border, not least to boost its important tourism industry.

Germany’s border with Luxembourg can be completely opened and Seehofer said he was also ready to reopen crossings to Denmark starting May 15 but that no formal agreement had been reached yet.

Earlier, Austria said its border with Germany would fully reopen in a month. The Alpine country has been lobbying Germany hard to reopen the border, not least to boost its important tourism industry.

Germany’s border with Luxembourg can be completely opened and Seehofer said he was also ready to reopen crossings to Denmark from May 15 but that no formal agreement had been reached yet.

People past walking a sign in a shopping street that shows ‘Show love – Keep distance’ in Cologne, Germany, on May 12, 2020. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Controls at the EU’s external borders will remain until June 15, said Seehofer, adding it was too early to ease controls with Italy and that he would have big problems allowing travel to the United States. Both have been hard hit by the crisis.

However, he said he could imagine that people in safe parts of China could re-enter Germany after June 15.

In an indication of the toll the pandemic is having on the travel sector, tour operator TUI said earlier it needs to reduce its fixed cost base by 30 percent and cut thousands of jobs in response to the crisis.

By Michelle Martin and Thomas Escritt and Francois Murphy in Vienna

NTD staff contributed to this report.

Focus News: Germany to Start Easing Border Controls

Rep. Mark Walker Introduces Act to Hold China Accountable for CCP Virus

Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) on May 12聽introduced the聽Cage the Paper Tiger Act in an effort to hold China accountable for the CCP virus. “For decades, politicians in Washington have failed the families of North Carolina and the country in addressing China鈥檚 rise,” Walker, a former pastor, said in a press release.聽“We have allowed the economic, human rights, and now global health abuses of the Chinese Communist Party鈥攁t the expense of our workers and families鈥攇o unchecked long enough. It鈥檚 time to cage the Paper Tiger and show the world that China is much more roar than bite.” The new act refers to a literal translation of the Chinese idiom “zhilaohu,” meaning someone or something that seems threatening but is ineffectual, and includes聽safeguards to protect American interests. The act (pdf) comprises three…