Travelers from outside Europe will soon be unable to enter the EU, under a new plan aimed at slowing the spread of the new coronavirus and preventing any added burden to national health systems.

Officials in Brussels hope that closing the bloc’s external borders would convince EU countries to avoid imposing restrictions within the EU. But so far, there is no sign that governments such as Hungary and the Czech Republic that have imposed border controls with other EU countries are intending to reverse the measures.

The goal of the proposed external border shutdown is to limit the spread of the outbreak in both directions, said one EU diplomat, adding that it is also aimed at “reducing pressure on our health system which can’t welcome in this moment foreign nationals for non-urgent care.”

Here’s POLITICO’s guide to the EU border shutdown:

What is being proposed?

The European Commission has proposed a temporary restriction of non-essential travel from third countries into the EU+ area (the Commission does not like the phrase “travel ban”). That area includes nearly all EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The move could include Ireland — which has an opt-out from the Schengen Agreement — and the United Kingdom if they decide to align.

Who proposed it?

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put forward the initiative on Monday. European heads of state and government endorsed it at a European Council video conference on Tuesday evening.

Why now?

“In the current circumstances, with the coronavirus now widespread throughout the EU, the external border regime offers the opportunity of concerted action among Member States to limit the global spread of the virus,” reads the Commission’s proposal to governments, in a plea for EU countries to act in unison.

“A temporary travel restriction could only be effective if decided and implemented by Schengen States for all external borders at the same time and in a uniform manner,” it said.

Does the EU have the power to do this?

Brussels is proposing the idea, but it does not have the power to implement it. The Commission is asking each government to introduce its own restrictions on entering their country from outside the EU+ area. Brussels wants EU countries to coordinate as much as possible for harmonized implementation.

But the Commission can do very little on enforcement: When asked what would happen if they decided not to follow suit, Commission spokesperson Adalbert Jahnz said that the border restrictions would be a coordinated set of “national decisions” and therefore enforceable only by member countries under national law.

Whom will it apply to?

EU citizens and citizens of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland will be permitted to enter the EU+ area to return home.

Non-EU+ citizens would temporarily not be allowed into the bloc, but there are exemptions. According to von der Leyen’s proposal, the restrictions would not apply to people transporting goods and other transport staff.

Long-term residents under the Long-term Residence Directive or who hold long-term visas, are family members of EU nationals, as well as people traveling for “imperative” family reasons will be allowed to enter. Health care professionals, health researchers and elderly-care professionals would also be exempt.

Frontier workers commuting legally into an EU nation from neighboring countries would be allowed in. There are also exemptions for diplomats, military personnel and humanitarian workers. Moreover, the restriction would also not apply to passengers in transit and asylum seekers.

How will it work?

Much remains uncertain about how the new measures would be implemented, since every member country would have to put its own rules in place.

How long will it last?

Von der Leyen said the restrictions “should be in place for an initial period of 30 days, which can be prolonged as necessary.” The Commission’s communication notes that possible prolongations depend “on further developments.”

Will it apply to UK citizens?

They are still to be treated in the same way as EU citizens until the end of 2020. They can therefore continue traveling to the Continent.

How about goods?

Much like the Commission, countries are keen to stress that nothing should upend a steady flow of goods and plan to steer clear of restrictions on freight transport. “There shall be no restrictions on the movement of goods, regardless the country of origin,” said Jovita Neliupšienė, Lithuania’s ambassador to the EU, adding that her country “fully supports” the EU’s approach.

Some governments are currently highly concerned about the impact of internal border controls on the flow of people and goods, with Neliupšienė pointing to the hundreds of Latvians, Estonians and Lithuanians “stuck in trucks, cars and buses” on the Polish-German border.

What about internal EU borders? 

For the Commission — which on Monday also put forward new guidelines for border management within the bloc — part of the motivation for closing the external borders to third country nationals is to try to roll back many governments’ decisions to place controls on their borders with other EU members.

“It is more efficient and less disruptive than the closure of borders within Europe, which must be avoided to allow border workers to continue working and for essential goods to move in Europe,” the first diplomat said.

In its communication to governments on external border restrictions, the Commission wrote that the new plan would “enable the lifting of internal border control measures, which several Member States have recently reintroduced in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. These measures risk having a serious impact on the functioning of the Single Market as the EU and the Schengen area is characterised by a high degree of integration, with millions of people crossing internal borders every day.”

But some officials are skeptical that closing the external border would persuade crisis-focused governments to relax their new controls with EU neighbors.

The Czech Republic intends to keep its current measures — preventing most non-Czech citizens from entering the country — in place even after Tuesday’s meetings of EU leaders, said one senior official.

“It’s going to be a problem to open up the internal borders, for many member states,” said a second diplomat.

Maïa de La Baume contributed reporting 

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Brussels’ tech trash troubles

Tech is crucial to the Commission’s plans to cut down on waste, but it’s also a source of garbage in its own right.

Brussels is looking at the tech sector as both the savior and destroyer of the planet.

That dichotomy comes through in the European Commission’s new Circular Economy Action Plan, a draft of which was obtained by POLITICO and which will be presented on Wednesday.

On the one hand the plan says that digital technologies can help reduce the environmental impact of other sectors. On the other, it lays out ways to address the growing waste problem of the tech sector itself.

“Digital solutions can advance the circular economy, support the decarbonisation of all sectors and reduce the environmental and social footprint of products placed on the EU market. Yet it is also clear that the ICT sector also needs to undergo its own green transformation,” the Commission said in its digital strategy.

The action plan is aimed at completely revamping the way that the bloc uses resources — tackling everything from clamping down on waste to mandating a greater use of recycled materials in new products, better classifying hazardous waste and hammering home the circular principles of reduce, reuse and recycle.

That’s where the tech sector comes in for special scrutiny. It sells short-lived devices that are difficult to repair and are often replaced. Electronic devices are one of the fastest growing waste streams in the EU, while only 35 percent electronic waste is recycled.

To reverse that trend, the European Commission wants to require manufacturers of electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets and earphones to make products more easily repairable and recyclable. The draft plans are still subject to last-minute changes, but give a clear indication of the Commission’s thinking.

To reduce e-waste, the EU’s executive arm is set to consider a bloc-wide reward system for consumers to return or sell back electronic devices.

But at the same time, Brussels is very aware it needs digital technologies in its drive to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

“Digitalization will offer systemic solutions that will put big data and artificial intelligence at work for environmental policymaking — it will also enable innovative business models such as products-as-service or the sharing economy,” Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told ministers during Thursday’s Environment Council.

The Commission wants to share the most relevant data on making supply chains more circular — such as the built environment, packaging, textiles, electronics, information and communications technology, and plastics. One of the key elements — to be developed in 2021 — is to set up a data platform to track waste shipments.

The EU’s digital chief Margrethe Vestager and Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton last month presented the bloc’s data strategy. Those plans included a common European Green Deal data space, which would use the “major potential” of data in support of priority actions on climate change, circular economy and zero pollution.

Louise Guillot contributed reporting. 

The federal government is encouraging Canada’s banks to do more to help struggling Canadians during COVID-19: “We continue to have discussions with them that are really focused on the need for banks to do more,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a press conference Tuesday. “We acknowledged that they did go in the right direction. But we see every day that this crisis is more and more of a challenge for everyone.” Trudeau added that the government is working on other credit solutions for Canadians that will be announced in the next few days.

Last week, Canada’s five largest banks announced they would cut interest rates for some customers in response to COVID-19’s impacts on consumer finances. The move came soon after the banks announced minimum payment deferrals for two to six months, depending on the institution. But the deferral is not payment forgiveness. All banks, except for National Bank, will charge accrual interest.

These measures are aimed at helping Canadians navigate tough financial circumstances, but they also have applicants asking: Will this hurt my credit score?

The Paper Trail

“The short answer is no, it should not,” said Kelley Keehn, a consumer advocate for FP Canada and personal financial educator. But Keehn added that you must be clearly in agreement with your lender that these arrangements are deferrals – not defaults. A record of this arrangement is important to have on hand as proof of the agreement and deferred payments.

Credit unions like Equifax and TransUnion cannot keep track of all of these transactions, according to Keehn: “You want to make sure you get it in writing if you can. If you can’t get it in writing, you need to make sure you’re taking really good notes.” This includes e-mailing yourself details to keep track of timestamps and payment dates on your calendar. A deferred payment won’t hurt your credit score at this time, but a missed payment will.

Licensed insolvency trustee Scott Terrio said that having a paper trail is not only a good way to prove the agreement, it can also safeguard against errors in the banks’ credit reporting system: “We see mistakes happen all the time,” he explained, referring to the paperwork mishaps he and his clients come across at the Ontario-based debt relief firm Hoyes, Michalos & Associates.

These are mistakes made under normal circumstances. Now with a system weighed under the pressure of COVID-19, lenders’ staff are stretched thin. “If you have the paperwork, you’re good. If you don’t, they’re not going to help you.”

Equifax and TransUnion offer Canadians free access to their credit reports and encourage frequent credit checks after you apply for a deferral, though it will take 30 days to show whether the report had any impact.

How to defer your minimum payments with your bank

BMO

BMO customers can apply online and request deferral payments through the message centre. For customers without BMO online banking service set up, they can fill out a request form. Advisors aim to get back to customers within four days, according to the website.

CIBC

CIBC’s approach to qualifying customers is largely on a case-by-case basis, prompting applicants to fill out a ‘request for deferred payments form’. The CIBC Advisory Team will then review the customer’s situation and discuss options.

Applications can be filed online. However, if your next payment is due within the next 48 hours, CIBC recommends that you apply over the phone.

RBC

Customers can qualify for RBC’s deferral program as long as their personal or business finances have experienced “financial hardship as a result of COVID-19”. Cardholders have the option between the two-month immediate relief benefit and the six-month longer term relief option (which requires consulting with an advisor on a case-by-case basis to see who qualifies.)

You can apply by logging into your RBC account, selecting the “Need to defer a minimum payment due to COVID-19?” option, and following the instructions there.

Scotiabank

To qualify for Scotiabank’s deferral program, you or one of your family members must be either unemployed because of COVID-19 or have been impacted by a significant reduction in income. Beyond that, Scotiabank’s advisors review customer cases and discuss options.

Scotiabank’s website explains that relief measures like mortgage and auto payment deferrals can be done online, but for additional measures, like minimum credit card payment, would need to be made over the phone. They also warn that wait times will be longer than usual.

TD

TD will allow its customers to defer payments for three months as long as: they are the primary account holder; the card has been open for four months and is not a business credit card; the account is in good standing without any prior delinquencies, bankruptcies, or charge-offs; and has not deferred credit card payments previously.

Cardholders can apply for the deferral online as long as they are registered with the EasyWeb service or can apply over the phone.

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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal wage subsidy program for employers hit by COVID-19 will have looser standards than previously announced.

After speaking with stakeholders and workers, Trudeau says his government is ready to refine the parameters of some of the emergency aid programs announced in recent days and weeks.

“We want to make these emergency measures as inclusive as we can so we’re listening and making adjustments along the way,” he said Wednesday.

Rather than having to show a 30 per cent decline in revenues, businesses can instead show a 15 per cent decline in March, and can compare their revenues to previous months rather than the previous year, Trudeau announced.

Watch: Trudeau announces expanded wage subsidy

 

Charities and non-profits can also choose whether to include revenues from governments, such as grants, in their calculations when they apply.

Businesses need to survive and workers need to get paid if the economy is to “come roaring back after this crisis,” Trudeau said.

He also announced the federal government will cover 100 per cent of wages for students hired under the Canada Summer Jobs Program. The government will also extend the time period for job placements to the winter, in recognition that many jobs will start later than usual due to the pandemic, and companies will be permitted to hire students part-time.

The hope is this will encourage businesses to hire students to allow them to get the work experience they need and earn incomes during the downturn, Trudeau said.

“Today we’re taking a step in the right direction to help young people find work during this difficult time, but I want to be clear, we will be doing more,” he said.

“Just like we will do more for those who need help but are not eligible to receive the benefits that we have announced so far.”

Earlier Wednesday, Conservative finance critic Pierre Poilievre said relief from the federal government for small businesses suffering losses due to COVID-19 is not rolling out fast enough.

Tory MP: ‘A little less conversation, a little more action’

He noted the United States has already delivered $66 billion in forgivable loans to businesses in America while Canadian companies are still waiting for promised emergency financial help.

“If these businesses go bankrupt during this crisis, many will never reopen and these millions of workers will be without jobs and opportunity. This will be a social catastrophe for our country,” Poilievre said in Ottawa.

“That’s why we are calling on the government to get moving. A little less conversation, a little more action, please, as Elvis used to say.”

Conservatives are calling for the Liberal government to use faster measures, including reimbursing GST payments remitted by small businesses for the 12 months prior to the start of the COVID-19 crisis — a move that Poilievre says would put $13 billion back into the bank accounts of business owners.

The Conservatives also say the Canada Emergency Business Account, which will provide interest-free loans of $40,000 for qualifying businesses, should be delivered by credit unions, not just banks.

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Poilievre also wants the government to widen eligibility criteria for the Liberals’ wage subsidy program beyond lost revenues to allow employers who have seen lost profits or subscriptions to also apply to this program.

Trudeau encouraged the Conservatives to work with his Liberal minority government to pass legislation needed for the wage subsidy program to be enacted. Poilievre said Conservatives are ready to go to the House of Commons right away, and blamed the Liberals for holding things up.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says House leaders from all parties are currently debating the best way to bring Parliament back to debate these emergency measures and said she hopes this will happen as soon as possible.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2020.

TORONTO — Ontario will allow cannabis delivery and curbside pick up from authorized retail stores during the COVID-19 pandemic after they were taken off the essential businesses list.

 

A news release from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario says this temporary measure is the result of an emergency order introduced Tuesday and will continue for the next 14 days, with the possibility of an extension.

It says this measure will also help fight the illegal cannabis market.

The commission says authorized cannabis stores can sell, deliver and offer curbside pick up of up to 30 grams of weed from Monday to Sunday, between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m., and customers must pay for their products in advance by phone or online.

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On Friday, Premier Doug Ford announced stringent measures to avert thousands of potential fatalities due to COVID-19 by shuttering several businesses including cannabis shops, with only the province’s online sales portal remaining open.

Cannabis retailers across the province welcomed the emergency order saying curbside pick up and delivery affords many smaller retailers the ability to generate much-needed revenue.

“We’ve been working closely with the Government of Ontario on ways to support cannabis retail store operators and legal recreational cannabis consumers since the stores were ordered to close following a provincial order declaring a state of emergency,” Jean Major, CEO of the commission said in a release.

“This new measure helps address consumer demand and maintain a revenue stream for store operators while supporting the government’s broader objectives.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 7, 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the steam entirely out of Toronto’s housing market, with home sales falling by 76 per cent in the week ending April 5, new data shows.

The impact of the pandemic on the housing market appears to be on the same scale as its impact on airlines. Airline capacity in Canada has declined by 65 per cent in recent weeks, according to a report at the Hill Times.

In terms of home sales, “it is certainly the biggest drop we have ever seen in Toronto,” said Doug Vukasovic, a prominent Toronto real estate agent who released the data in an email to media Tuesday.

Watch: What’s happening to Canadian housing in the pandemic? Story continues below.

 

“Based on the trajectory over the last couple (weeks) we will likely continue to see a downward trend in pricing during COVID-19. How far things will drop is hard to tell at this point. There is a high level of uncertainty across most sectors,” Vukasovic wrote in an email to HuffPost Canada.

There were 107 condo sales in Toronto in the week ending April 5, down 80 per cent from the same week a year ago, the sales data shows. Detached homes declined by 69 per cent, also coming in at a total of 107 sales.

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Price trends tend to lag home sales trends, but this time, prices are already under pressure. The average detached home fell 9 per cent to $1.25 million, while the average condo price dropped to $613,403, a 4 per cent decline from a year ago.

Vukasovic said there are “a host of challenges” for people looking to buy or sell in this market ― including the fact that agents have been instructed not to carry out business face to face. 

“Many consumers will need to rely on virtual tours and photos to buy or sell real estate. We have even seen some condo buildings go as far as not allowing lockboxes for showings to be set up, in an attempt to keep buyers from entering the building,” Vukasovic wrote.

For those who need to buy or sell, it’s possible to sign and notarize documents electronically these days, Vukasovic noted. But if you’re putting your house on the market, you can expect it to take longer to sell than before the crisis, and for those buying, the selection won’t be what it was ― new listings have also dropped.

“In the current market, you’ll need to be prepared to accept a heightened level of uncertainty and some additional workarounds,” Vukasovic wrote. “If that’s not an appealing trade-off, then consider temporarily putting your search on hold. The housing market will be here when the pandemic clears.”

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OTTAWA — Canada has ordered 30,000 new ventilators from domestic companies but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he is hoping we don’t end up needing nearly that many.

Federal officials also said more than 230 million surgical masks and 75 million N95 respirator masks have been ordered but cautioned the global supply chain is so fragile they cannot guarantee how many of those will actually arrive.

Front-line medical workers remain in desperate need of personal protective equipment, including gowns and N95 masks. Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned Monday his province would run out of those supplies in one week.

Watch: 30K ventilators on order

 

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A shipment of 500,000 N95 masks from Minnesota-based 3M bound for Ontario is set to arrive Wednesday. The shipment was delayed after President Donald Trump ordered the company to stop exporting critical equipment needed in the U.S.

A full-court press from Canada overcame that obstacle for the time being, but Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday the entire world is looking for these supplies and the markets to buy them are changing, sometimes by the hour.

Trudeau said this morning “the entire world was unprepared” for a pandemic of this size, and said Canada is better off than some other countries where supplies are more limited and the outbreak more severe.

Trudeau said about 5,000 Canadian companies have answered the call for help to make everything from face masks to medical gowns to help treat people afflicted with COVID-19. That includes a number of companies which had federal procurement policies fast-tracked in order to make 30,000 new ventilators.

He says the new ventilators will be ready “in the coming weeks” but nobody was more specific about when.

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In late March, it was estimated that Canada had around 5,000 ventilators already across the country.

Trudeau says ordering 30,000 more is intended to get more than we need as quickly as possible and any we don’t end up using will be made available to other countries in need.

“We certainly hope we do not get anywhere near that number” of patients on ventilators, he said.

Anand said 16 million of the surgical masks the federal government ordered have already been delivered, and that 2.3 million of the N95 masks ordered will be in Canada by the end of the week.

Canada is also in need of surgical gowns but getting a domestic supply of those was difficult because the materials used to make them aren’t produced in Canada, said Industry Minister Navdeep Bains.

A bit of extra effort led to the discovery that materials normally used to make air bags and construction house wrap can be used to make the gowns, so manufacturers of those items were connected with apparel companies, including Canada Goose, to make new surgical gowns domestically, he said.

A few hundred Canadian patients are in intensive care because of COVID-19 but it’s not clear how many are on ventilators, because provinces treat the numbers differently.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 7, 2020.

MONTREAL ― Air Canada says it will apply for Ottawa’s emergency wage subsidy program and retain or rehire employees who have been laid off due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline announced last month it would cut about 16,500 jobs as part of a cost reduction program as a result of the virus and imposition of global travel restrictions.

Depending on wage levels, many employees will receive more under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy than they would from employment insurance, on top of maintaining their health insurance and other benefits, according to Air Canada.

Watch: Who’s hiring in Canada amid the coronavirus crisis? Story continues below.

 

“While our seat capacity and operations have decreased by more than 90 per cent overnight, we are trying to keep as many of our employees as possible during the crisis and this measure will certainly help,” CEO Calin Rovinescu said in a release Wednesday.

Air Canada said March revenues fell by more than 30 per cent year over year ― the threshold to qualify for the wage subsidy ― and expects cash inflow to remain below that mark throughout the program term.

The Montreal-based airline said retained or rehired employees will benefit from the subsidy for the length of the program ― currently slated to last for up to 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15.

The layoffs of 15,200 unionized workers and 1,300 managers went into effect last Friday and were initially slated to last through May amid shuttered borders and plunging travel demand.

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International air travel has dropped to record lows, with passenger volumes at Canadian airports decreasing by 96 per cent year over year for the week starting March 30, despite thousands of travellers returning home on repatriation flights, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Passengers arriving from the U.S. and the rest of the globe dwindled to 11,400 and 3,300, respectively, compared to 376,900 and 73,200 in 2019.

In addition to the temporary workforce reductions, Air Canada announced March 31 that Rovinescu and chief financial officer Michael Rousseau have agreed to forgo their salary for three months. Rovinescu received $11.5 million in total compensation in 2018 and $9 million in 2017.

Senior executives will also forgo between 25 and 50 per cent of their salaries while members of Air Canada’s board have agreed to a 25 per cent reduction. All other Air Canada managers will have their salaries reduced 10 per cent for the second quarter.

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PORT WASHINGTON, NY — Montana Miller: folklore and anthropology professor by day, “speed skydiver” on nights and weekends.

Miller, 49, has been skydiving since 2010, but began speed skydiving a year ago. That means jumping out of a plane and heading for the ground as quickly as you can.

“You’re trying to go as fast as possible down,” Miller told Patch. “As long as you don’t die.”

She’s become so adept at diving head-first toward the ground — at nearly 250 miles an hour —she qualified as one of two members of the U.S. Parachute Team competing next month at the 2019 World Cup of Speed Skydiving in the U.K.

Miller, an Ohio resident who spends weekends in Port Washington with her partner, Mario Mauro, runs an all-female 8-way formation team, joining limbs during free-fall to form geometric patterns.

But in speed skydiving, it’s one person hurtling toward the earth, waiting as long as possible to deploy the parachute.

“I love that it’s a very pure relationship between me, my mind, my body and nature,” Miller said. “I’m on this really, really short, intense roller coaster where I’m either battling with the air all around me, or I’m perfectly in tune with it, where I feel I’m one with all of these forces: air, wind and nature. It feels kind of like being an animal.”

That’s when Miller visualizes herself as a peregrine falcon: tucking her head and tightening her body to reach maximum acceleration. But instead of catching pigeons in order to feed chicks, as she puts it, she’s trying to make contact with the ground as quick as she can.

Miller earned her spot on the U.S. team at the 2018 U.S. Parachute Association National Championships. She was hoping to make the team in 8-way formation, but wound up competing as a speed skydiver.

“They needed people to enroll for the event,” she said. “I ended up enrolling for the hell of it, to see if I’d be any good at it.”

Spoiler alert: She was.

Now she will represent her country in one of the largest international speed skydiving competitions.

“My biggest concern is to represent the U.S. respectably and not embarrass myself by having scores that people would look at and go, ‘What is she doing in the World Cup?’ and ‘What is this newbie doing among all the pros who’ve been doing it for years?'”

The World Cup of Speed Skydiving will feature eight rounds of dive attempts, and whoever has the lowest average time to earth wins. There are two divisions: overall and female-only.

Miller’s process starts with her jumping out of the plane and then identifying a spot on the ground that she wants to reach. But just diving straight for the ground could be a challenge in England, with its notoriously rainy and cloudy climate.

Miller said that when a cloud obscures her target during training, she has a more unstable and wobbly dive. But whatever the weather, Miller said she’ll be nervous as she stands by for her turn to jump.

“Skydiving is so much waiting around: waiting for the plane, getting ready, riding up in the plane,” she said. “Then you just have 20 or 30 seconds to make everything work together. It’s like many sports where there’s all of this training and preparation, and then it all comes down to a split second.”

Should Miller succeed in posting a speedy average score, it would go a long way towards achieving her ultimate goal: making the U.S. team for next year’s World Championship of Speed Skydiving in Siberia.

While speed skydiving remains an under-the-radar discipline that very few Americans have heard of, much less compete in, Miller feels it’s on the cusp of popularity. She expects more people will try out for the U.S. team in Nationals this September. Only one spot on the speed team is guaranteed to a female skydiver.

“It would be a dream of mine to travel to Siberia with the U.S. delegation,” she said. “That is actually what I am most nervous about right now. It’s quite likely that I will not be able to beat any of the men, because they’re all much bigger and heavier than I am. I’m just really hoping that I can get good enough that I can be the woman who represents the U.S. next summer.”

BOYNTON BEACH, FL — In addition to the fact that they both carry badges, two Florida cops got the surprise of a lifetime when they discovered this week that they share a bond even more permanent than their brotherhood in blue.

They are literally brothers, or half-brothers, as the case may be.

“Good morning, my name is David Stull,” Stull wrote to Boynton Beach Police Officer Eric Reynolds last month. “According to 23andMe, we are half-brothers. I was adopted as an infant and have very little knowledge of my family history, so I have no way of knowing the validity of this.”

Reynolds had also visited 23andMe — three years ago — to learn more about his family’s ancestry and health information.

“He was curious about the possibility of unknown relatives, but never imagined this,” explained Stephanie Slater of the Boynton Beach Police Department. “He also never expected to learn that his new half-brother is also a law enforcement officer who lives just a few hours away in central Florida.”

Reynolds is a Boynton Beach police officer in South Florida and Stull is a sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in the Orlando area.

The brothers met for the first time at Stull’s home on July 20.

“It was like meeting a clone of me,” Reynolds explained. “It was overwhelming and exciting and bit of sadness at the same time. We’ve been texting all the time. We’re alike in so many ways. I have someone I can talk to, trust as brothers and cops. It feels great.”

Stull was planning to reciprocate with a visit to Reynolds and his family in Boynton Beach on Friday.

Watch the emotional first meeting below courtesy Boynton Beach Police Department: