European Union member states should avoid closing their internal borders, despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases, a representative of the European Commission (EC) told TASS.

The representative's remarks came on the statement of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda that the EU member states may return to the issue of re-closing borders.

According to him, the opinion of the European Commission on this issue has not changed and the renewal of ineffective EU restrictions and internal border controls must be avoided moving forward.

He added that any restrictions on free movement within the EU should only be applied where strictly necessary and they must be coordinated, proportionate, and non-discriminatory to address public health risks.

As the President of Lithuania said on Monday, the situation with the coronavirus is getting worse and they may face border control restrictions.

According to the president, at the EU level, it is necessary to agree on a mechanism for using such a measure, which would be uniformly applied as a quarantine tool.
EU member states opened their internal borders on 15 June.