(7)The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that threats to public health can require uniform rules concerning travel restrictions for travel into the Union by third-country nationals. The adoption of inconsistent and divergent measures at the external borders to address such threats negatively affects the functioning of the entire Schengen area, reduces predictability for third-country travellers and people-to-people contacts with third countries. To prepare the Schengen area for future challenges of a scale comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new mechanism should be established which would allow for the adoption and lifting, in a timely manner, of coordinated measures at Union level. The new mechanism at the external border should be applied in the event of a large-scale public health emergency with a serious cross-border threat to health, recognised by the Commission at Union level without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Councilnote, taking into account information from competent national authorities.
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.