TIRANA – The has been a gradual approach on lifting the imposed restrictions on the Slovenian-Hungarian border, after talks with Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek.
Minister Počivalšek said the goal is to reopen borders in early June, as the infection cases in both countries have started to decrease, SchengenVisaInfo.com portal said on Wednesday.
Minister Szijjarto wrote in a Facebook post that relaunching the economy means resuming international cooperation which includes relaxing border restrictions. According to him, people’s health should not be put into jeopardy.
“However, it is not possible to rebuild the economy without a restart of international cooperation, therefore, without jeopardising the priority of health protection, the priority of health protection is needed,” he pointed out in his post.
Szijjarto stressed that both countries have successfully managed the Coronavirus pandemic, adding that “both Slovenia and Hungary have taken the necessary measures in time.”
Szijjarto also noted that trade between Hungary and Slovenia exceeded € 2,5 billion per year.
Minister Počivalšek, in a Twitter post, revealed that he had also suggested stepping up procedures to reopen borders in his talks with the relevant ministers from Hungary and Austria.
In April, Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Szijjártó, said that the border crossing stations in Kétvölgy and Bajánsenye have reopened for nationals of both countries, in a bid to facilitate the movement between these two countries.
Szijjártó stressed that border crossing stations along the northern stretch of the Hungarian-Slovenian border had been closed since mid-March, as part of both countries’ efforts to stop the further spread of the pandemic and protect their citizens.
“In response to their requests, we are reopening the Bajánsenye and Kétvölgy border crossing points beginning this morning. Accordingly, people in the area can begin going to work again, and farmers can perform their spring tasks so there will be something to harvest in the autumn,” he had announced./argumentum.al