Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

COVID-19

EU imposes entry ban for 30 days in bid to slow coronavirus pandemic

The European Union will impose an entry ban on travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days to battle the spread of the coronavirus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday.

Published: 17 March 2020 20:43 CET
Updated: 17 March 2020 22:03 CET

EU imposes entry ban for 30 days in bid to slow coronavirus pandemic

There are already checks at some internal EU borders, such as this one between Poland and Germany. Photo: DPA

Member states “agreed to impose an entry ban” into the bloc, with only nationals of EFTA countries and Britain exempt from the restriction, said Merkel.

“That should apply for 30 days. Germany will implement it immediately,” added the leader of Europe's biggest economy.

Special exceptions will be made for European citizens and residents coming home, although it's expected that some countries will ask them to self-isolate for two weeks.

With countries severely curtailing travel to prevent COVID-19 contagion, Germany had earlier issued a warning against travel worldwide.

The bloc is taking “coordinated action to bring back stranded travellers,” said Merkel.

“The union and its member states will do whatever it takes,” said European Council President Charles Michel.

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that thousands of Germans were stranded abroad as airlines slashed flights and borders closed.

Several controls on internal borders within the EU have already been introduced in a bid to stall the virus spread.

On Monday Germany introduced tighter border controls with five countries, including France and Denmark.

READ ALSO: Drivers turned back as Germany partially closes borders to fight coronavirus

Member comments

Anonymous - 18 March 2020 at 07:34 CET

The UK should be included because they are virtually operating as normal.
Anonymous - 18 March 2020 at 08:02 CET

Whats the use of this when the virus is spread almost every country in the Europe. This has to be taken care even before its entry. Now there is no point of closing the borders. Dumb EU

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

How hard is it to eat gluten-free in Spain?

Studies indicate that around 0.7 percent of the EU population suffers from coeliac disease, but many cases go unreported. Many more people are gluten or wheat-intolerant rather than being classed as coeliac.

Luckily Spain is becoming more and more aware of different dietary needs and many people here suffer from the disease or are intolerant too.

The Federation of Celiac Associations of Spain (FACE) estimates that there are between 600,000 and 900,000 people who suffer from coeliac disease in the country.

Eating out

According to the Spanish tourist office Madrid, Barcelona and Asturias are the regions in Spain with the most restaurants serving gluten-free food. Many establishments in these places will list whether a dish contains gluten or not, with a wheat symbol, the letters gf or sg (sin gluten).

In fact, the Asturian village of Cangas del Narcea has been named as Spain’s first ever gluten-free destination, which also celebrates National Coeliac Day every year on May 27th. You can find out more about it here.

Extremadura is also becoming a coeliac-friendly destination thanks to the Gluten-Free Extremadura project, which raises awareness and promotes establishments that have gluten-free menus.

Naked & Sated is a chain of gluten-free restaurants that have establishments in Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, Málaga and Pozuelo de Alarcón. They serve gluten-free pizzas, burger buns, toast, cakes, and French galettes, among others.

The Association Coeliacs of Catalonia has a list of some of the best gluten-free restaurants in the region and The Association of Coeliacs of Madrid has the same.

READ ALSO: ‘I pay €15 for a few potatoes’ – What it’s like being a vegetarian in Spain

Supermarkets

If you’re cooking for yourself, it’s very easy nowadays to find gluten-free food in the major supermarkets. National chains with good free-from sections include Mercadona, Carrefour, Alcampo and El Corte Inglés.

All these places sell everyday items such as gluten-free pasta, bread, pizza bases, crackers, biscuits, pastry, alternative flours and more.

The bad news is that gluten-free options in supermarkets are a lot more expensive than their wheat-based counterparts. The Federation of Coeliac Associations of Spain (FACE) prepared a ‘Price Report’ on specific gluten-free products and estimated that the difference in spending is an extra €1,087.72 per year.

The investigation also noted a significant increase in the price of gluten-free products of €167.57 when compared with 2023.

Spanish gluten-free food

Spaniards eat a lot of bread, that’s true, but when it comes to main dishes you’ll find that lots of Spanish food is naturally gluten-free anyway.

Paellas, meat and seafood stews, grilled fish, pisto (similar to ratatouille), and tortilla (Spanish omelette) are all made without gluten and the good news is that dishes rarely contain pastry – it’s more about the rice and the potatoes here. The main thing you’ll need to make sure is that the sauces aren’t thickened with flour.

A lot of tapas can be gluten-free too, including patatas bravas (potatoes with spicy tomato sauce) or aioli (garlic mayonnaise), pimientos de Padrón (fried green peppers), anchovies, ham and cheeses.

You can even eat a lot of the desserts that are not baked such as flan (like creme caramel), arroz con leche (rice pudding), ice cream and turrón (almond nougat).

Some classic dishes you need to watch out for are gazpacho and salmorejo (cold tomato-based soups) which contain bread, and croquetas which have bechamel sauce and breadcrumbs.

Many beers are also gluten-free in Spain, simply ask for cerveza sin gluten when you order.

READ ALSO: The best vegan and vegetarian Spanish dishes

Vocabulary

While some people are intolerant to just wheat, others can’t eat anything containing any form of gluten, so it’s important to be aware of the vocab so you can ensure what you’re eating is safe for you.

The most important words and phrases to learn are sin gluten (gluten-free) Soy celiaco (I’m a ceoliac).

Wheat – Trigo
Barley – Cebada
Oats – Avena
Rye – Centeno

Help for coeliacs who live in Spain

If you suffer from the disease and you live in Spain, there is actually financial aid that you can apply for in order to help with the extra cost of your shopping.

One option for aid is from the General Mutuality of State Civil Officials (MUFACE), which amounts to up to €400. Beneficiaries must be part of MUFACE and can apply for aid until December 31st, 2024. At the time of application, applicants must prove they suffer from the disease.

There are also different regions that provide extra help for coeliacs. These include Ceuta, Melilla, Extremadura, the Basque Country, Navarra and the Canaries.

In Ceuta, depending on your family income, aid can go up to €400 per year. In Melilla, the maximum figure amounts to €780 per year per person and €1,500 per year per family unit.

The government of Extremadura and the Provincial Council of Cáceres, together with the Celiac Association of Extremadura (ACEX), provide food packages for low-income families.

The Basque Country, the Provincial Council of Vizcaya has allocated €100,000 annually in aid, which is €80 per applicant.

Navarra has allocated a total of €30,000 in aid, with a maximum of €90 per month.

Url copied to clipboard!