Boris Johnson in holiday showdown with Angela Merkel

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Spain’s nightclubs have reopened as Madrid continues to push for eager British holidaymakers to be able to visit without mandatory quarantine over the summer.  

It comes as Boris Johnson will attempt to persuade Angela Merkel to allow Britons to visit EU countries this summer, as uncertainty over foreign trips continues.   

The Prime Minister will meet the German chancellor at Chequers on Friday to discuss her hopes to introduce an EU-wide quarantine policy to protect against the ‘Delta’ variant which has taken hold in the UK. 

She has been met with various levels of support, with French President Emmanuel Macron backing her plans – while Madrid is adamant that it will set its own border policy.  

Spain was yesterday preparing for the return of British tourists, with the Hard Rock Hotel in Ibiza hosting a pilot test event with nearly 1,500 attendees.

Elsewhere, in Madrid, people gathered in outdoor areas of clubs to drink and dance with their friends, which was previously banned under the country’s Covid restrictions.

Others queued to enter bars on Friday, the first night that clubs were permitted to remain open until 3am with 50 per cent capacity and outdoor-only dancing.

Spain also yesterday celebrated the end of the mandatory use of face masks, with young people seen throwing them into the air in Puerta del Sol square, Madrid.

The ‘Children of the 80s’ event in Ibiza was arranged ahead of the Balearic Islands, including Ibiza and Mallorca, being formally added to the ‘green list’ on Wednesday. 

Photographs from the pilot – which took place from 7pm to midnight – show dozens of partygoers wearing face masks as they dance. 

All those involved were required to present a negative PCR test performed 72 hours prior, or confirm whether they are vaccinated. 

Industry leaders in the area have suggested that Ibiza’s clubs could reopen fully as early as July 17 should the pilot project be successful.

Some 2,000 people were initially due to attend, but the number was reduced.   

Ocio de Ibiza manager Jose Luis Benitez said: ‘The pilot project is designed to show that nightlife activity can be resumed with the application of preventive measures.

‘It’s a priority to demonstrate that an entertainment venue offers more health guarantees than a clandestine party without any safety controls.

‘We must prepare for the return of activity to put a brake on uncontrolled nightlife.’ 

Various disputes have emerged in the EU over summer holiday plans, with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis insisting Germany and France should bolster their vaccination efforts rather than ban tourists. 

He said EU member states should be ‘accelerating the vaccinations’ rather than imposing further restrictions on British holidaymakers.

Spain’s tourism minister, Maria Reyes Maroto, also hinted at a split within the bloc on Mrs Merkel’s proposals, saying: ‘Hopefully we can begin to receive British tourists soon.

‘We don’t have any restrictions on tourists from the UK at the moment. They’re placing restrictions on people when they return.’

This EU infighting could threaten the long-awaited return of summer holidays for millions of eager Britons, after the Balearic Islands, Madeira and Malta were among the destinations added to the UK’s ‘green list’ on Thursday.  

Travel firms have since reported an explosion in demand for these holiday hotspots, with airlines scrambling to lay on dozens of extra flights and larger planes to meet demand.

Bookings for Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca surged 3,000 per cent following the announcement, with demand for Malta and Madeira up by almost 1,500 per cent.

A total of 16 nations were added to the ‘green list’, with all but one – Malta – also placed on a ‘watch list’, meaning they are at risk of returning to the ‘amber’ category. 

From June 30, holidaymakers will be able to return from these ‘green list’ countries without being forced into quarantine for 10 days when arriving back in the UK. 

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, yesterday criticised Mrs Merkel over her quarantine plans and suggested it was due to the bloc’s blow vaccine rollout.  

He said he understood why Germany might be ‘particularly concerned’ about the ‘Delta’ variant because it ‘doesn’t have the same level of vaccinations as has happened in this country’. 

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Shapps added: ‘I think it is understandable if you are in Germany.. and you have yet to reach the level of vaccination that we have seen here or in Malta, that you’re going to be more concerned. 

‘That may be just a question of waiting for their vaccination programme.’

The Transport Secretary also insisted he doesn’t believe there will be an EU-wide policy, telling Times Radio: ‘Malta clearly is not going to restrict British travellers because Malta has very high vaccination rates.’

Malta later announced plans to reimpose quarantine rules on unvaccinated Britons from Wednesday.

Downing Street yesterday announced that Mrs Merkel, who is due to step down as Chancellor this year, will visit the UK for talks with Mr Johnson at Chequers on July 2. 

A Number 10 spokesman said: ‘This will be a chance to discuss a range of issues, including deepening the UK-Germany relationship and the global response to the coronavirus pandemic.’   

Mrs Merkel’s quarantine plans risk scuppering the Government’s proposals to lift self-isolation requirements for double-jabbed Brits returning from amber list countries.  

Much of Europe is on the ‘amber list’ and UK holidaymakers are unlikely to book a trip to the Continent if they face a lengthy stay in self-isolation upon their arrival.

The exact date for the easing of the ‘amber list’ rules for people who are fully vaccinated is yet to be set but August appears likely. 

Told that Mrs Merkel wants all EU member states to impose quarantine rules on British travellers, Mr Shapps told Sky News: ‘I understand that. Germany doesn’t have the same level of vaccinations as has happened in this country so they will be particularly concerned.

‘Each country will have to come to their own decision. A country like Malta which has a very high level of vaccination hasn’t said the same thing and other European countries will come to their own decisions and I respect that, that is for them to do.

‘But it is different in each country and largely driven by levels of vaccination that they have managed to achieve in each country.’

Mrs Merkel said yesterday: ‘We have not yet managed to ensure that all 27 member states have the same entry requirements for people arriving from virus variant areas, in this case Great Britain, but in other countries also.

‘With us you have to be in quarantine when you come from the UK. This is by no means the case in every European country. But I would like that.’  

Macron has signalled his support for Mrs Merkel’s proposals.

He said: ‘We must all be vigilant because the much-talked-about Delta variant is coming, which spreads much more rapidly than the other variants and affects people who are not vaccinated or who only have had one dose.

‘For me, one of the issues of discussion is to be really taking co-ordinated decisions in terms of opening of borders to third countries and on recognising vaccines because at this stage we have to limit this to the vaccines that have been approved by the European medical authority.’   

Jose Ramon Bauza, the former president of the Balearic Islands, which are being added to the green list from next week, said decisions on border rules must be ‘based on science’ and should not be ‘political’. 

Asked if he believes Spain will have to agree to a harmonised approach to quarantine rules if that is what is decided by the EU, he said: ‘We know that vaccination is working very well and in fact in (the) UK it’s working so far.’ 

But French MEP Veronique Trillet-Lenoir said there should be a ‘harmonised’ approach to travel rules across the European Union and ‘third countries’ such as the UK.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The European Union is concerned by the Delta variant and wants to act in a united and co-ordinated manner as much as possible.’

She said discussions are ongoing over decisions regarding ‘third countries’ such as the UK.

‘Clearly Germany, France and Portugal have already said that they needed a quarantine; what I really would like is a harmonised and co-ordinated manner, although I understand that the vision is not the same for southern and northern countries in Europe,’ she added.

The EU infighting comes as eager British holidaymakers yesterday rushed to book trips abroad following the expansion of the quarantine-free ‘green list.’    

Travel firms reported an explosion in demand for destinations including the Balearic Islands, Malta, Madeira and some Caribbean countries. 

Package holiday giant Jet2 has laid on an extra 70 flights to Malta and Madeira following soaring demand, including a new route between Stansted and Malta. 

Jet2 chief Steve Heapy said: ‘We knew there was a lot of pent-up demand out there but the response from our customers has been truly incredible.

‘Bookings to Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Malta and Madeira have gone through the roof, which shows just how much UK holidaymakers want to get away.’

BA is scrambling larger Airbus A320 and A321 planes to replace smaller A319s to deal with demand on some of the busiest routes. 

EasyJet said it was laying on 50,000 more seats on planes destined for green list destinations over the next few months.

Ryanair announced an extra 200,000 seats for flights to Malta, Ibiza and Majorca in July, August and September. It also triggered a price war by offering tickets from as little as £19.99.

Travel chiefs said however that more countries should have been put on the green list. 

And they criticised the creation of a watchlist which means destinations can return to amber at very short notice, as with Portugal earlier this month.