Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

BORDERS

Slovenia reopens border with Italy

As coronavirus border restrictions ease across Europe, a nettlesome fence on the Italy-Slovenia border came down on Monday, reuniting a town that had been divided for months.

Published: 15 June 2020 14:34 CEST
Slovenia reopens border with Italy
The border fence between Italy and Slovenia was taken down on June 15th. Photo: Jure Makovec/AFP

The mayors of Gorizia in Italy and Nova Gorica in Slovenia cut a symbolic ribbon and hugged each other across the border to mark its full reopening.

READ ALSO: Open borders: Europe's haphazard route to ending travel restrictions

“This is a symbolic day. Both Goricas have overcome the epidemic… and proved they share a common reality, unity,” Nova Gorica Mayor Klemen Miklavic said before removing a section of fence on Europe Square.

“We are like a table with four legs, two are in Italy and two in Slovenia. If we lose two legs, the table can't stand anymore,” added Gorizia Mayor Rodolfo Ziberna.


Mayors Klemen Miklavic (L) and Rodolfo Ziberna cut a ribbon marking the border. Photo: Jure Makovec/AFP

The fence was installed by Slovenian authorities in March after the country closed its borders, and was particularly symbolic as it ran along a part of the old Iron Curtain and evoked unpleasant memories among older residents.

The original “Gorizia wall” only came down in 2004, the year Slovenia joined the European Union, and since then the town has experienced extensive integration, with residents crossing the border daily to shop, commute to work or go to school.

The border closure in March was particularly disruptive for town residents, but neither Rome nor Ljubljana were prepared to give much leeway.

Ziberna said local co-operation had remained excellent, however. “We believe this is a model of collaboration we could export to all of Europe,” he said.


People chat through the border fence in early June. Photo: Jure Makovec/AFP

After declaring the end of the epidemic last month, Slovenia has eased travel restrictions with its neighbours. The border with Italy — one of the countries hardest hit by the virus — was the last to come down, and people were finally allowed to cross into Slovenia on Monday with no restrictions.

READ ALSO: 

Italy has recorded almost 4,000 cases per million inhabitants, while Slovenia has had just over 700. With a population of around two million people, Slovenia has registered just under 1,500 Covid-19 infections and 109 deaths, while more than 34,000 people have died in Italy.

Slovenia now allows restriction-free travel to 19 European countries, though controls remain in place for those arriving from Britain and Sweden among others.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The EU's new Entry & Exit System (EES) of enhanced passport controls is due to come into force later this year, but among many questions that remain is the situation for non-EU nationals who live in the EU or Schengen zone.

Published: 27 April 2024 07:59 CEST
Reader question: What will EES mean for foreigners living in Europe?

Currently scheduled to start in autumn 2024 (unless it’s delayed again, which is not unlikely) the EU’s new Entry & Exit System is basically an enhanced passport check at external EU borders, including a facial scan and fingerprinting.

You can find a full explanation of the new system HERE.

Travellers crossing an external EU or Schengen border for the first time will be required to complete EES ‘pre-registration’ formalities including that facial scan and fingerprinting.

There are, however, several groups exempt from EES and one of them is non-EU nationals who have a residency permit or long-stay visa for an EU country.

So if you’re a foreigner living in the EU or Schengen zone, here’s what you need to know.

Exempt

One of the stated aims of EES is to tighten up enforcement of over-staying – IE, people who stay longer than 90 days in every 180 without a visa, or those who overstay the limits of their visa.

Obviously these limits do not apply to non-EU nationals who are resident in the EU or Schengen zone, which is why this group is exempt from EES checks. They will instead be required to show their passport and residency permit/visa when crossing a border, just as they do now.

In its explanations of how EES will work, the European Commission is clear – exempt groups include non-EU residents of the Bloc.

A Commission spokesman told The Local: “Non-EU citizens residing in the EU are not in the scope of the EES and will not be subject to pre-enrollment of data in the EES via self-service systems. The use of automation remains under the responsibility of the Member States and its availability in border crossing points is not mandatory.

“When crossing the borders, holders of EU residence permits should be able to present to the border authorities their valid travel documents and residence permits.”

How this will work

How this will work on the ground, however, is a lot less clear.

Most ports/airports/terminals have two passport queues – EU and non-EU. It remains unclear whether the non-EU queue will have a separate section for those who are exempt from EES.

It does seem clear that exempt groups will not be able to use the automated passport scanners – since those cannot scan additional documents like residency permits – but should instead use manned passport booths. However it is not clear whether these will be available at all airports/ports/terminals or how non-EU residents of the EU will be directed to those services.

There’s also the issue that individual border guards are not always clear on the processes and rules for non-EU residents of the EU – even under the current system it’s relatively commonly for EU residents to have their passports incorrectly stamped or be given incorrect information about passport stamping by border guards.

Brits in particular will remember the immediate post-Brexit period when the processes as described by the EU and national authorities frequently did not match what was happening on the ground.

The Local will continue to try and get answers on these questions. 

READ ALSO What will EES mean for dual nationals

What if I live in the EU but I don’t have a visa/residency permit?

For most non-EU citizens, having either a visa or a residency permit is obligatory in order to be legally resident.

However, there is one exception: UK citizens who were legally resident in the EU prior to the end of the Brexit transition period and who live in one of the “declaratory” countries where getting a post-Brexit residency card was optional, rather than compulsory. Declaratory countries include Germany and Italy.

Although it is legal for people in this situation to live in those countries without a residency permit, authorities already advise people to get one in order to avoid confusion/hassle/delays at the border. Although EES does not change any rules relating to residency or travel, it seems likely that it will be more hassle to travel without a residency card than it is now.

Our advice? Things are going to be chaotic enough, getting a residency permit seems likely to save you a considerable amount of hassle.

Delays 

Although residents of the EU do not need to complete EES formalities, they will be affected if the new system causes long queues or delays at the border.

Several countries have expressed worries about this, with the UK-France border a particular cause for concern.

READ ALSO Travellers could face ’14 hours queues’ at UK-France border

Where does it apply?

EES is about external EU/Schengen borders, so does not apply if you are travelling within the Schengen zone – eg taking the train from France to Germany or flying from Spain to Sweden.

Ireland and Cyprus, despite being in the EU, are not in the Schengen zone so will not be using EES, they will continue to stamp passports manually.

Norway, Switzerland and Iceland – countries that are in the Schengen zone but not in the EU – will be using EES.

The full list of countries using EES is: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Therefore a journey between any of the countries listed above will not be covered by EES.

However a journey in or out of any of those countries from a country not listed above will be covered by EES.

You can find our full Q&A on EES HERE.

SHOW COMMENTS