Spain to open land borders with Portugal, France after state of emergency ends on June 21

Spain will lift all restrictions on border crossings with France and Portugal from June 22, Reuters quoted Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto as saying in Madrid on Thursday.

The borders were closed to everybody but Spaniards, cross-border workers and truck drivers from mid-March, when the country went into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

On Wednesday, the Spanish government secured parliament’s backing for a final extension to the state of emergency imposed to tackle the coronavirus epidemic – now in place until June 21.

PM Pedro Sanchez sought to extend the state of emergency, which grants his government exceptional powers, to allow greater control over people’s mobility as the lockdown is phased out.