Concern mounts that border measures threaten EU free travel

The future of ID-check free travel across 26 European countries is at risk if governments do not ease soon the emergency border restrictions they introduced to halt the spread of the coronavirus, European Union lawmakers and officials warned on Tuesday.

As the virus outbreaks expanded in Italy in February, the country's neighbors imposed border measures to keep the disease out, without any consultation. Others then followed suit until almost half the members of the zone known as the Schengen area had reintroduced controls of some kind.

Free movement is a jewel in Europe's crown which helps business flourish by allowing goods and people to seamlessly cross borders. Schengen came under pressure as countries introduced measures after the arrival of more than 1 million migrants in 2015, and in response to a series of extremist attacks. Some countries have kept those controls in place.

European officials fear that the coronavirus could be a nail its coffin.

"The risk we are facing seriously today is the death of Schengen," Tanja Fajon, a leading EU lawmaker on the border measures, said Tuesday.

"It is in a very poor and problematic state. It has been hit years ago by the refugee crisis and the virus delivered another blow. We have to restore free travel as soon as possible once the pandemic is over," the lawmaker from Slovenia said, adding that countries need to quickly draw lessons about whether the "very chaotic, selfish and egotistical approach at the borders" early in Europe's outbreak were worth it.

The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, is unveiling on Wednesday its guidelines for the 26 countries to lift any border restrictions they have in place.

It's likely to recommend that they open in areas of similar low infection rates and based on the resilience of health care systems.

"The challenge which lies ahead of us is restore the integrity of the Schengen area," said Monique Pariat, the commission's Director General of Migration and Home Affairs.

"The process will be complicated. Member states have introduced different measures in a very uncoordinated manner and unwinding these different national decisions will take some time."