Germany extends travel warning for non-European states, lifts entry restrictions for EU seasonal workers

Berlin will extend its travel warning for non-European countries until the end of August but will lift Germany’s border controls for all its neighbors by mid-June, ministers said on Wednesday.

Germany had already said it would lift a blanket travel ban for EU members Britain, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland from June 15, opening the way to giving travel advice tailored for individual regions.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said existing rules for non-EU citizens wanting to come to Germany would be extended until the end of June.

The government in Berlin will from next week lift entry restrictions for seasonal workers from European Union and Schengen states, introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus, Reuters quoted Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner as saying on Wednesday. Last year, almost 300,000 seasonal workers were employed in Germany’s agricultural sector, mainly from Romania and Poland.