09.05.2020 – 12.15 – It is still under debate when and how the borders will be reopened, whether in the form of a tourist corridor or facilities for cross-border workers, or through increased access.
After the substantial extension of Austria’s controls and the rejection of Slovenia, the “border” issue was discussed again by Governor Massimiliano Fedriga over two different speeches, the first at Radio24 and the other at Telequattro.
In the first one, Fedriga stressed his diplomatic ties, observing however how these exclusive “corridors” between one or more EU nations are signed in contempt of the European Union’s pivotal freedom of movement.
“I have spoken both with the governor of Carinthia,” said Fedriga, “as a member of Euregio, and with the president of Slovenia, pointing out that we are very interested in entering into such agreements. Given this, it seems very particular that it is the individual nations that decide where the citizens of the European Union can go on holiday.
There is also a denial of the fundamental principles of the European Union in the tourism sector. I would therefore recommend to be cautious when talking about agreements of this kind between individual states within the Union.
Travel between regions was also a matter of discussion in the interview, and the governor pointed out that this should be assessed on a case-by-case basis: “It depends on where you come from and where you are going.
In the State-Region conference we stressed that the government should think about it”. He said, “I hypothesize that it will be achievable by June.
The reopening of the borders with Slovenia was also discussed during the interview on Telequattro, where the governor clarified how this decision is up to the “two sovereign states”, i.e. Italy and Slovenia and certainly not to the individual regions.
However, no doubt we can talk about it only after the 11th or the 18th May. Fedriga then stressed the fact that there must be, also in this case, reciprocity on both sides, in order to avoid unfair competition.
“I have no news,” explained Fedriga, “but I think we must reopen in a symmetrical way: we must reopen, but reopen the shops at the same time. We cannot keep our shops closed and open the border. We must also give the supply side enough freedom, otherwise it is obvious that people will go across the border. In this way, we would not only have people moving, but also an economic damage.
Author: Zeno Saracino
Michael Guggenbichler translation
