Europe “will have a summer tourist season”, European Union economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni has declared, as the EU’s executive commission prepares to agree a plan for borders.
The commission will meet later today and propose that borders are gradually reopened over the coming months.
Some countries are already beginning to revive their tourism industries: Austria and Germany have agreed a two-step process for reopening their borders, which will begin this week, while Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia will reopen borders to each other on Friday.
Beaches on the north-west coast of France will begin reopening today, with gatherings limited to eight people.