Merkel, Macron agree to coordinate more on coronavirus travel restrictions
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Germany’s Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on Thursday to coordinate more closely on travel restrictions related to the coronavirus, the chancellor said after bilateral talks on Thursday.
“We agreed we will work much more closely with each other so we give people the feeling that similar things are being done in the Schengen area,” Merkel told reporters in France.
“At the moment even in Germany it is a big problem that the rules are different from state to state and people don’t understand,” she said, adding that while she wanted to avoid closing borders again, countries had to act in a coordinated way.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) attends a press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron (R) after a meeting at Fort de Bregancon, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, south-east of France, 20 August 2020. EPA-EFE/CHRISTOPHE SIMON / POOL
Macron wants de-escalation of tensions, respect for sovereignty in east Mediterranean
France’s President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that Europe must protect its members’ sovereignty in the Eastern Mediterranean when it is cast into doubt.
Macron also said France and Germany would act in a coordinated way and that both countries want a de-escalation of tensions and respect for sovereignty.
Macron was speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Fort de Bregancon in southern France.
