French, German Leaders Urge Vigilance Against COVID-19 Variants

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron urged European Union countries Friday to be vigilant against the spread of new coronavirus variants and called for the bloc to coordinate its COVID-19 border reopening policies.

"Caution is still necessary so that we have a summer of many freedoms, if not all freedoms," Merkel told a joint news conference in Berlin before the two leaders held a working dinner. "Some countries have reopened their borders earlier for tourist industry reasons, but we must be careful not to reimport new variants," Macron said. Macron noted the situation in Britain while Merkel pointed to Portugal to show how things can quickly change.