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| - The European Commission on Thursday called on EU member states to lift all border restrictions by the end of June, Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Euronews, saying the virus situation was "fast improving" in many countries. "We are coming very close to a situation where we should lift all the internal border restrictions and border checks," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Euronews, speaking on the eve of a videoconference of European interior ministers. "Tomorrow I'm going to propose that the member states should lift all the internal border checks as soon as possible, and I think a good date should be the end of June," she added. Johansson said she was "very happy" to see EU nations beginning to end border checks and open up the EU and Schengen passport-free area again as spread of COVID-19 was stemmed. As the summer tourist season approaches, several nations, including France and Belgium, have announced the reopening of their borders, with more European nations, including Germany, set to follow suit on June 15. Italy did so on Wednesday. But despite efforts to coordinate, the moves have been decided piecemeal at national level. A decision is yet to be taken on reopening the European Union's external borders. France, Spain and Italy are among the countries worst-hit by COVID-19. alm/fmi/pvh/har
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