VILNIUS (Reuters) – Poland and the Baltic States will open their borders to each other next week in an easing of travel restrictions put in place due to the pandemic, Lithuanian Prime Minister said on Friday after a video conference with his Polish counterpart.
The Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – opened their common borders on May 15, creating the first so called “travel bubble” within the European Union in a bid to jump-start economies stalled by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
“We agreed that free movement between the Baltic States and Poland will be restored next week,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said on his Facebook page after the talks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
“Ministries of both countries were told to work on this as fast as possible,” he added.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia each allow entry into their common travel area from most EU countries, singling out those where infection rates are deemed low enough to mitigate any risk of rekindling outbreaks that have slowed across the Baltics.
Travellers from other countries are told to self-isolate for 14 days. Travel from countries where infection rates are high, such as Sweden and Britain, remains banned.
(Reporting By Andrius Sytas; editing by Niklas Pollard)
