Spain to reopen borders with Schengen countries on June 21

Spain will reopen its borders with Schengen zone countries on June 21, except for its border with Portugal. Earlier, the plan was to open its borders on July 1.

The decision was announced on Sunday by Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez, at the weekly video conference with regional presidents, that have been regularly held since the coronavirus outbreak.

The Spain-Portugal border will only be opened on July 1. The EU Commission has recommended a lifting of internal border controls in the Schengen area from June 15.

As cases and deaths have decreased, Spain has been slowly removing the strict measures put in place to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Spain is one of Europe’s hardest-hit countries, with nearly 250,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, and more than 27,000 deaths.

It introduced strict lockdown measures in March as its health systems became overwhelmed with the number of coronavirus cases. Those measures included closing the borders to foreign travellers.

A pilot programme allowing foreign travellers to visit the Balearic Islands starts on Monday, and this will give the government a better idea of how its safety protocols are functioning.