Spain to reopen borders with Schengen countries except Portugal on June 21

Spain will reopen its borders to its fellow Schengen countries – with the exception of Portugal – on June 21, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Sunday.

The reopening date is ten days earlier than originally planned. The country will reopen its borders to Portugal on July 1, Sánchez said.

The delay for reopening borders with Portugal was at the request of the Portuguese government, the Spanish prime minister explained.

Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus, is still not open to tourists and arrivals in the country are required to self-quarantine for 14 days. The Spanish government has previously said that from July 1, tourists would be able to enter the country without having to quarantine.

“From then the obligation for travelers who enter our country to quarantine will disappear,” Sánchez said at a press conference in Madrid.

External borders will not reopen until after June 30, Sánchez said, adding that a list of “safe countries” would be drawn up for which restrictions would be lifted from July 1.

The country is currently in a state of emergency, closed to tourists, and international arrivals have to undergo a 14-day quarantine. The lifting of restrictions for other EU members will coincide with the end of its state of emergency.

Elsewhere, some other EU countries, including France, are set to lift border restrictions with countries in the European Union on Monday June 15.