Hungary-Serbia re-open 3 border crossings for commuters – UPDATE

Three crossing points have re-opened for commuters at the Hungarian-Serbian border, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on his Facebook page on Thursday.

Hungarian and Serbian nationals who work or have land to farm on the other side of the border can cross at Röszke, Tompa and Hercegszántó as of 6am on Thursday, he said.

Serbia introduced strict restrictions in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic banning passenger traffic at its borders, Szijjarto said.

The ban has seriously affected many residents and local businesses in the border region, he said.

Szijjártó said he had discussed the issue with Serbia‘s Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimovic and agreed with them on re-opening the three border crossings for commuters.

As we wrote yesterday, Ukrainian, Romanian and Serbian guest workers heading for Western Europe are only being allowed to enter the territory of Hungary during a fixed period of four hours, read more HERE.

The minister told a press conference in Horgos, on the Serbian side of the border, later in the day that the policy will apply to Hungarian and Serbian nationals living within a 50km distance of the border.

Meanwhile, he said Hungary’s OTP Bank and oil and gas company MOL would both play key roles in reopening the Serbian and Hungarian economies.

In addition, the government will carry on with its economic development scheme in Serbia’s northern Vojvodina region which has so far generated 86 billion forints’ (EUR 240.9m) worth of investments, Szijjártó said.