“Romanian and Bulgarian citizens will be afforded a single transit opportunity on Tuesday night along the designated transit routes”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

The Minister explained that during the course of the day he had held several consultations with the Bulgarian and Romanian foreign ministers, both of whom had asked that Hungary enable Bulgarian and Romanian citizens who have become trapped in Austria the opportunity to return home.

“Our primary criteria is to protect the health of Hungarian citizens, and this is also the goal served by our border protection measures”, Mr. Szijjártó said. “Taking all this into account, we will be affording Romanian and Bulgarian citizens a single transit opportunity during the course of tonight along the designated transit routes, to facilitate their return home”, he stated, adding: “Our chiefs of police have agreed on the details”.

“Nevertheless, Hungary expects both the Romanian and Bulgarian authorities to inform their own citizens with relation to Hungary’s border protection measures, and with relation to the fact that only Hungarian citizens may enter the territory of Hungary within the framework of personal travel”, the Foreign Minister stressed.

“We also expect the Austrian authorities to maintain order on the Austrian side of the border and to enable Hungarian citizens and freight transport to use the border crossing station”, he also stated.

Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu had previously asked Mr. Szijjártó to open a humanitarian corridor to enable the some 3500 Romanian citizens, who have become stuck at the Hungarian-Austrian border at the main Hegyeshalom border crossing station after Hungary closed its borders to foreigners because of the coronavirus epidemic, to travel home via Hungary.

(MTI)