Austrian Kurz aims to lift border controls at Switzerland in June

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday that the country wanted to ease some border checks on coronaviruses with Switzerland in a few days and end all checks in June.

“We are in good contact with the Swiss government. Our aim is that we can reach agreement in the coming days on a significant easing and that border controls can be completely completed in June, "Kurz said in an interview.

Austria introduced restrictive measures on March 16. With the rate of new infections and deaths from Covid-19 having dropped considerably in Europe, countries experiencing similar situations have started to conclude bilateral agreements as part of the gradual relaxation of measures.

Kurz said declining infection rates in Switzerland and Austria "are evolving in a similar fashion": Austria has around 16,000 confirmed infections and 600 deaths, while Switzerland has around 30,400 infections and 1,561 deaths.

"Switzerland and Austria are small export-oriented countries that are well connected internationally. It is clear that the desire for openness in our countries is perhaps stronger than in other places. Our goal is, of course, to resolve the situation on our largest border with Germany. Talks with Germany are going extremely well. Expect a breakthrough there too, ”said Kurz.