French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe speaks on French state TV channel France 2. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has warned the UK must up its coronavirus quarantine measures, in a further sign that some European leaders are uneasy with the UK’s approach to reducing the spread of virus.

Speaking on French state TV channel France 2, Philippe said: “There are confinements in Italy, in Spain. But for instance, if the UK continues not to apply any measures, we will find it difficult to accept British nationals on our territory.”

His comments came after European Council President Charles Michel announced EU member states had agreed to reinforce EU external borders by applying a coordinated temporary restriction of non-essential travel to the EU for a period of 30 days. The ban applies to people traveling into Europe from countries that are not part of European Union, the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) area, or the UK. The UK currently still has freedom of movement within the EU until the end of the Brexit transition period.

However, under EU law, EU citizens or members of their family may be expelled from the host Member State on grounds of public policy, public security or public health.

“The President has fought hard with the European authorities to make a coherent response possible,” Philippe told France 2. “On the issue of containment, it may make sense to do sanitary border control. Closing borders completely also means making it more complicated to get the products we need.

“It is not illegitimate to re-establish health controls at borders. We must ensure that entry into the European area is controlled,” Philippe added.