Brussels/Frankfurt, 12 May 2020 – Thilo Brodtmann, Executive Director of VDMA, comments on the discussion surrounding the opening of borders in Europe:

“Companies urgently need open borders in Europe again. This should be the top priority of the EU Commission - also in line with the idea of a united Europe. Economic recovery is not possible without a functioning internal market and free movement of people. This is all the more important now that individual member states have  started to ease measures for their national economies. These more relaxed measures must not stop at borders.

In addition, VDMA is calling for the lifting of the German quarantine regulations for EU foreigners and travel returnees, unless there is a concrete suspicion of disease. Technical personnel in particular must be able to move freely within Europe. This is the only way to ensure smooth cross-border production. The existing quarantine obligation was questionable from the start. It is not based on a concrete potential danger from entering the country from abroad, but rather assumes an abstract risk. This view has now been confirmed by the decision of the Higher Administrative Court of Lower Saxony on 11 May 2020.“

A photo of Thilo Brodtmann, Executive Director of VDMA, can be found here

The VDMA represents around 3300 German and European companies in the mechanical engineering industry. The industry represents innovation, export orientation, medium-sized companies and employs around four million people in Europe, more than one million of them in Germany.

If you are not interested receiving our press release in the future, please send an Email to european.office@vdma.org.