Austria opens land borders, Italy is excluded. Di Maio: The approach hurts the EU

Screenshot by google maps  of Italy-Austria border 

 Austria opened all land borders to what Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg called a return to pre-colonial times. But the doors will continue to be closed to Italy, which regained freedom of movement on Wednesday.

Austrian foreign minister said controls at the border with Italy would be re-evaluated next week and that they were considering the possibility of allowing Italians in regions with low numbers of infections to enter.

The head of Italian diplomacy, Luigi Di Maio, opposed such an approach: "Such individualistic approaches risk harming the European Union."

Most European countries are expected to reopen the borders between them from June 15, in a bid to revive the severely damaged tourism industry and recession economies. Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition agreed on a massive stimulus package to speed up the recovery: "It's about 130 billion euros, 120 of which will be covered by the government. We have a stimulus package, a package for the future, although the priority of the discussions was to fulfill the responsibilities towards Europe and internationally".