(Natural News) The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is planning to close its borders with the rest of the world for a whole month, in a statement released Monday.

Under the proposal, which needs the approval of all member states on Tuesday, all non-EU citizens will be barred from entering any country within the Schengen Area’s border-free travel region for the next 30 days.

The Schengen Area is a territory inside the EU that allows people to move freely throughout each of the member states. The area includes 22 members of the European Union (excluding Romania, Ireland, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria) as well as four non-EU nations: Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

The commission’s proposal will also cover Romania, Cyprus, Croatia and Bulgaria. Ireland, which is part of the EU but not part of the Schengen Area, has not announced any plans to block international travel. However, an official stated that Ireland and the United Kingdom — which just recently left the European Union — are “encouraged to align” with the EU.

This comes as the World Health Organization reports 167,511 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 6,602 deaths as of press time. Nearly a third of all known cases now come from Europe. (Related: WHO: Europe now the EPICENTER of the coronavirus pandemic.)

“The less travel, the more we can contain the virus. Therefore…I propose to the heads of state and government to introduce temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement. “These travel restrictions should be in place for an initial period of 30 days, but can be prolonged as necessary.”

The commission’s proposal guarantees exemptions for diplomats, long-term EU residents, family members of EU nationals and doctors and researchers working to study and contain the pandemic.

The leaders of the European Union will discuss the European Commission’s proposal via video conference on Tuesday. While individual EU states have implemented different protocols to fight back against the spread of the coronavirus, the EU as a whole hasn’t been able to come up with a coherent response to the crisis.

Today, we presented guidelines for EU countries for an effective border management. It protects health while preserving the integrity of the internal market to prevent shortages of medical equipment & food.

Our single market is a key instrument of EU solidarity.
More ↓ #COVID19

— European Commission