All border crossings with France, Switzerland and Austria will be opened Saturday and authorities will carry out checks randomly, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Wednesday.
During the height of the lockdown, only select border points remained open with restrictions.
Germany imposed checks on its borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Denmark on March 16 and people “without a valid reason to travel” haven’t been allowed to cross. Eastern neighbors Poland and the Czech Republic closed their borders.
Free travel without random checks across those borders is planned for June 15, Seehofer said, but controls will be stepped back up if infections rise strongly in neighboring countries.
The European Union proposed a gradual lifting of borders for this summer to help the hard-hit regions' tourism industry.
"Our message is we will have a tourist season this summer, even if it's with security measures and limitations," said economic affairs commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, according to the BBC.