Merkel starts bid to BAN English holidaymakers from EU

June 28, 2021

Germany will today attempt to ban British travellers from the EU regardless of whether or not they have had a Covid-19 vaccine.

Angela Merkel, the country's Chancellor, is pushing for the divisive move to designate Britain as a 'country of concern' because of the high number of Delta variant cases.

French President Emmanuel Macron has given his backing for the proposal but several Mediterranean countries are expected to resist any such restrictions.

Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal could defy an EU-wide ban in a bid to protect their large tourism economies, with Spain also adamant on setting its own border policy.

Malta likewise will require UK visitors who are not fully vaccinated to quarantine on arrival from June 30.

But the idea of a blanket quarantine for all UK arrivals in to the EU has created frustration for some of the bloc's countries.

Boris Johnson is set to meet Ms Merkel at his Chequers country residence on Friday with the hope of persuading her to back down.

A No 10 spokesman said the pair will discuss 'deepening the UK-German relationship and the global response to the coronavirus pandemic'.