Hungarian ForMin Szijjarto calls on Romanian authorities to take measures to avoid huge queues at border

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Szijjarto Peter on Friday appealed to the Romanian authorities to take the necessary measures to avoid the huge queues formed by the cars of Romanians returning from the West, at the border between the two countries.

The official underlined the "exceptional relations" between Romania and Hungary, with an emphasis on commercial ones, and said that these relations should continue after the coronavirus pandemic has passed.

"I hope that the measures taken to prevent the spread of the virus do not relieve us of the obligation to take care of our cooperation in the future, after the pandemic has passed. In this situation, it is clear that we, in this area, in Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin, we have very close links and this is best seen in this situation, which is why I hope that in the next period, the bilateral relationship between Romania and Hungary will be based on mutual respect, loyalty and self-help. There haven't been any requests on behalf of Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs or of the Ambassador [of Romania - ed.n.] that we have not been honored and we are trying to help in the future, as well. I have made it possible for Romanian citizens who want to return to the country from the West be able to travel on transit routes, on night transport routes. I have asked the Romanian authorities that this does not create traffic problems due to too many vehicles. During the night, 15-20 kilometers of queues were formed on the border between Hungary and Romania due to the procedures. We have a request to the Romanian authorities to modify the measures in such a way that the Romanian citizens who want to return to the country do not wait in unlimited queues in Hungary," the head of Hungarian diplomacy told a press conference held in western Cluj together with the leader of the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR), Kelemen Hunor.

He added that, if this problem could be solved, there will be talks about identifying solutions for the citizens of the two countries working in the border area, a problem discussed with the UDMR leader.

"We will discuss about the possibility for those who work in the border area to commute. We are ready to solve it. If the Romanian authorities find a solution for the citizens traveling through the country not to wait in queues on Hungary's territory, we are ready to start the consultations. People's health and the protection of life are important to us and it is also clear that supporting our economies and continuing their activity is of major importance," he further said.