Border posts have been dismantled. The armed guards and sniffer dogs have been retired. And the surly looking official who glances at you suspiciously before curtly handing back your passport has long since been consigned to the pages of dusty old spy thrillers. Over the last couple of decades, if the European Union had one crowning achievement it was surely freedom of movement. Borderless travel across the continent was by far the most meaningful change in daily life it had achieved. Indeed, when some Remainers in this country start blubbing into their Prosecco about everything they have lost by leaving the EU, unrestricted travel is often what bothers them most.
But hold on. It now turns out that freedom of movement is a far more fragile liberty than we thought. As Covid-19 spread across the continent, countries started to lock down borders again, and imposed quarantine rules that made a mockery of the whole concept.
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