Hungary border control

Hungarian Foreign Minister: EU leaders are making the same mistakes as in 2015

Szijjártó Péter Interview 2015 track

At a “serious and at times tough” debate on the situation in Afghanistan, the Brussels institutions and certain member states reverted to the “2015 track” in handling migration at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting in Brdo pri Kranju, in Slovenia,

Szijjártó lambasted EU leaders for “slipping back onto the path of 2015, even though there is constant talk of not repeating the mistakes of the 2015 migration crisis,” he said.

The ministers also discussed issuing a call on the Taliban to allow free passage to those who want to leave the country. This, he insisted, was “in fact an invitation to any Afghan that wants to leave”. He warned that it was a “very dangerous, irresponsible position” and argued that half of

Afghanistan’s population of 39 million had lived on humanitarian aid even before the Taliban took over, while the country has at least 4 million domestic refugees, which could trigger another wave of mass migration.

He added, however, that the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia and Hungary had “rather firmly argued against migration”.

Afghanistan is “one of the hotbeds of terrorism”, Szijjártó said, adding that

an exodus of Afghans could “provide an opportunity to hundreds or thousands of terrorists to come to Europe”

and reach Turkey or the Western Balkans “practically unobstructed”.

The Hungarian government has rescued Afghans that used to help Hungarian troops but “not a single person apart from them will be accommodated”, he said. “The security of our country and that of the Hungarian people is of paramount importance,” the minister said.

Central European participants in the meeting made it clear that they would not support any mandatory migrant quotas,

Szijjártó said, adding that “each country has the sovereign right to decide whom to allow in and whom to live with”.

“Nobody, whether Brussels or the European Commission, will force any decision concerning that matter on us,” he said.

Participants in the talks also discussed issues around cooperation with China, India, and the Persian Gulf on Friday.

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Read alsoIs Hungary the “black sheep” of the EU?

Danish minister: criticizing PM Orbán for the border fence was a mistake

Hungary border fence migration

Justice Minister Judit Varga has called Hungary a “model state” in terms of managing issues around migration.

Her entry on Facebook appeared on Wednesday after Mattias Tesfaye, Denmark’s minister for immigration and integration, termed it as a mistake that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had been criticised for having erected a fence along Hungary’s southern border in 2015.

Varga cited Tesfaye as saying that Denmark advocated strong border defence and that

Europe should not make a choice between granting humanitarian assistance and building walls to protect the continent but it should do both.

“This statement and resilience over the past six years prove that Hungary is a model state as what is desire and hope elsewhere is reality here. Hungary is defending Europe’s borders and providing help where it is mostly needed simultaneously,” she said.

Meanwhile, PM Orbán met Andrej Plenkovic, his Croatian counterpart, to discuss the European political situation, the European Union’s future and Hungarian-Croatian cooperation yesterday. Meeting on the sidelines of the 16th Bled Strategic Forum, Orban and Plenkovic discussed current issues of regional cooperation and the

importance of border control,

Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister’s press chief, said. Central Europe will have to represent its interests in talks on the future of Europe vigorously, Orbán said.

Plenkovic thanked Hungary for the aid provided to earthquake-hit central Croatia earlier this year, he said.

hungary croatia
Read alsoForeign minister urges construction of new border crossings with Croatia

Illegal migrants and guest workers overruning the Southern borders!

Hungary migration border

Cars are waiting in kilometre-long queues trying to get in to Hungary from Serbia through Röszke and Csanádpalota. Thousands of Serbian guest workers would like to go back to Austria, Germany, and other Western European countries, exceeding the permeability of the Hungarian border stations. Meanwhile, a group of 17 illegal migrants attacked Hungarian border guards.

Currently, cars have to wait 3 hours in Röszke to enter Hungary, while this time is one hour in the case of buses, index.hu reported based on a police statement. In the opposite direction, both cars and buses have to wait one hour.

Thus, police recommended everybody choose smaller border stations through which to travel to Hungary. In the case of Serbia, these are Röszke, Kübekháza, and Tiszasziget, which are open between 7 am and 7 pm, and Ásotthalom where the opening times are 7 am to 10 pm.

In Csanádpalota, cars coming from Romania

have to wait two hours,

while this time is one hour in Nagylak. However, in Kiszombor there is no congestion, and the station operates all day.

Chaos at the Hungarian borders with Ukraine and Serbia – VIDEOS

You can get information about the waiting and opening time from the border information page of the Hungarian police (Rutin), which has a mobile application as well. As we reported before, at the beginning of July, the southern border collapsed because of the outflow of guest workers. They aimed to go home for their holiday. Now, the opposite process is happening since

they would like to return to the Western European countries where they work.

According to police.hu, 17 illegal migrants attempted to breach the southern border near Hercegszántó last evening. When police officers showed up, the migrants ran. However, shortly after,

a more violent group of 6 migrants came and threw rocks at them.

Therefore, the officers used tear gas, and the group ran back to Serbia, but nobody was injured.

Illegal migrants make attempt to break through southern border

Foreign minister urges construction of new border crossings with Croatia

hungary croatia

Hungary and Croatia rely strongly on each other and cherish their mutually beneficial cooperation, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Wednesday, after meeting his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlic-Radman, in Budapest.

“Both countries are firmly rooted in the original European values, which we could also call Christian values. This was probably the reason why Croatia did not join the smear campaign against Hungary after it passed its child protection law,” Szijjártó said, referring to claims that the Hungarian law was discriminating against the LGBTQ community.

“The European affairs ministers of several countries have initiated a joint document calling for Hungary to allow NGOs into Hungarian schools and kindergartens to engage in sexual propaganda there.

Croatia did not join that initiative, for which we are grateful,” Szijjártó said.

Regarding energy cooperation, Szijjártó said Hungary has a vested interest in the liquid natural gas terminal planned on the Isle of Krk. The terminal would allow Hungary to diversify its supply sources, which is a primary goal in energy security, he said. This was the first gas purchase agreement Hungary could conclude with other partners than the Russian Federation, he said. The new route is planned to supply 1.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Hungary annually in the next four years, and one billion cubic meters in the following three years each, he said.

Linking the two countries’ gas markets would keep prices down and help supply security, Szijjártó said. The next step could be a trilateral cooperation between Croatia, Hungary and Ukraine, to recover some of the transit capacity Hungary is losing because Russia’s Gazprom is transitioning to a southern route from its origingal supply line through Ukraine, he said.

Szijjártó also urged the construction of new border crossings, noting that currently, Hungary and Croatia had one crossing every 50 kms on average.

Hungary is bringing its M6 motorway to the border by 2024, has started to build a bridge across the Mura at Murakeresztur, and is planning two further crossings, he said.

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Read alsoHungarian man kills a protected swan in Croatia, will he pay for it?

Minister: government will protect Hungarian, European borders

Hungary-border-government

The government will protect both Hungary’s and Europe’s borders and will provide help where it is needed, Justice Minister Judit Varga sad on Facebook on Monday in connection with the issue of migration being back on the European Union’s agenda due to developments in Afghanistan.

Citing an interview she gave to Portuguese daily Expresso, Varga noted that Hungary had always argued that it also needed to look out for the interests of Europe and could not provide help by bringing trouble over to the continent.

“We believe it’s not a human right for someone to once get up on the other side of the world

and decide to live in another part of the world from now on and thus we would have to let him or her in without any control,” Varga said.

This is why the government decided to

protect the Schengen borders in line with the treaties,

she said. Other countries have been incapable of doing this, yet Hungary has received no recognition, only criticism, she added.

“Nevertheless, we will endure, we will protect Hungary and the European borders, and we will bring help where it is most needed,” Varga said.

 
Featured image: illustration

Chaos at the Hungarian borders with Ukraine and Serbia – VIDEOS

Hungary Ukraine Serbia border

People returning from their vacations and guest workers going home were trying to cross the borders in such huge groups that practically paralysed traffic at the borders of Ukraine and Serbia.

Every year in summer, when most people go on vacation and then return home, borders become incredibly crowded, and border officers are overwhelmed. This summer might be even busier due to last year’s lost summer vacations. Hungary’s borders with Serbia on South Ukraine on the North-East experienced a particularly big crowd in the past two days.

How to travel to Hungary this summer

On Sunday, those who wished to cross the border by car at Röszke in the South had to wait for several hours to do so.

The crossing point was so crowded that until 7 pm, only those entering Hungary were allowed to cross.

The police advised people who were heading to Serbia to choose smaller crossing points. At around 6 pm, there was a five-km-long queue on the Serbian side with a waiting time of four hours, according to Magyar Szó.

On the Ukrainian border, the situation was very similar, though people found a faster way to continue their travel. At around midday on Monday, a dozen buses were stuck in the traffic at Csap, wanting to leave Hungary and enter Ukraine. Guest workers heading home travelled on the buses.

The traffic jam formed because of border patrol, who demanded a security deposit worth the value of those buses having a foreign licence plate.

Those cars and buses with a Ukrainian plate could cross without a problem.

After several hours spent waiting, the crowd was so outraged that people started to get off the buses and walked towards the border crossing point,

wrote KISZó.

However, the armed border patrol stood in their way; thus, the whole traffic was completely paralysed.

The crossing point at Csap was not the only one in such a difficult situation. Several others on the Ukrainian border experienced a chaotic situation. At Nevetlenfalu, for instance, the IT system shut down on Monday morning and was out of order until the afternoon, writes index.hu. People trying to get home at several other crossing points experienced four-hour-long waiting times.

A physical fight among some drivers almost broke out when lining into the lanes at the gates.

Hungary migration
Read alsoThe number of illegal border crossings is on the rise in Hungary

Hungary to become the exemplar of the American right-wing “Trumpism”?

orbán and trump

Tucker Carlson, an American TV host and political commentator on Fox News, visited Hungary and its border with Serbia. One of the most influential voices of American right-wing politics came to Hungary for a week to report live for the news channel every day during his stay.

The popular right-wing TV presenter is visiting Hungary to be a special guest of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium’s festival on Saturday in Esztergom – on top of working on a documentary, supposedly about Viktor Orbán and his government’s politics.

He already interviewed the Hungarian Prime Minister, who says that President Biden personally insulted the Hungarian people.

His visit has quite the importance, and not only because our beautiful Budapest provides the backdrop to his reports and interviews for a whole week.

Tucker Carlson is a dominant figure in extreme right-wing politics in the United States, an exemplar for those against migration, vaccination, free trade, feminism, LGBTQ rights, and liberalism, among other things.

He is frequently accused of spreading fake news about the effectiveness of the vaccine, for instance. Conspiracy theories are not alien to him, either. He uses his ideas to grow his audience, writes 24.hu.

His ideas and opinions in numerous cases coincide with the policy of the Orbán cabinet. For this reason,

in Carlson’s eyes, Viktor Orbán is a hero and idol who fights for the protection of the West from Muslims, migration, and the technocracy of Brussels.

On Tuesday, he started his programme “Tucker Carlson Tonight” with these words: “If you care about Western civilisations, democracy, and families and the ferocious assault of all three of those things by the leaders of our global institutions, you should know what is happening here right now.”

He also visited the Serbian border and complemented the work there, saying that the Hungarian government did not need huge amounts of money or high-tech technology to stop migration completely. As hvg.hu quotes his words, Hungary was the only country in Europe that decided not to follow the EU’s rules and stood up against illegal migration. He was surprised to see two Syrians being accompanied back to Serbia through a small gate, instead of getting them a lawyer or the help of a “civil organisation with ties to George Soros”. According to him, there was no chaos or rubbish anywhere on the Hungarian side, as opposed to the Serbian part of the border.

 

To complement his reports, it is important to mention that the Hungarian police spent over 1 billion euros on defending the borders of the country between 2015 and 2019. When it comes to “putting an end to illegal migration”, this year, the Hungarian Police and Army stopped three times more illegal migrants than the past year.

His visit to Hungary made ripples in international media as neither the majority of the American press, nor most international news sites are particularly happy about it and what he talks about in his programme. The Washington Post dedicated two articles to the issue, which was the main topic of world politics on Tuesday.

These respected papers and news sites are worried that Carlson presents Hungary and its policies as an example to follow.

hungary border fence migration
Read alsoHungary’s immigration law enforcement strictest in the EU?

Police warn of ‘great migration pressure’ on S border!

Hungary illegal migration
Hungary’s southern border with Serbia is “under great pressure of migration”, the national police (ORFK) said on Friday, adding that the number of actions taken had tripled in the first seven months of the year compared to the same period last year.
 
Since the beginning of the year, police have intervened on 53,297 occasions compared to 17,442 between January-August in 2020, ORFK leaders told a press conference. Department head Zoltán Boross said that
501 people smugglers had been apprehended this year,
compared to 414 last year, adding that 459 legal proceedings had been initiated this year, “more than the figure for the whole of last year”.
 

Gergely Czuczor, a deputy head of department at ORFK, said that the police had thwarted 26,600 illegal entries since the beginning of the year, while
23,683 illegal entrants had been apprehended close to the border on Hungarian territory and a further 200 inside the country.
Czuczor said that the number of asylum seekers in Hungary had been reduced from 92,000 to 48,000 during the past year.
 
 
Featured image: illustration

Seventeen border violators found in van on motorway in Hungary

police illegal migrants

Seventeen border violators packed into a van were found on the Budapest-Vienna M1 motorway on Tuesday evening, police said.

The vehicle carrying Romanian licence plates was heading for the Austrian border and stopped at Győrszentiván, Győr-Moson-Sopron police said.

The passengers, all of them claiming to be Syrian, were unable to prove their identity or that they had entered Hungary legally.

The 23-year-old Romanian driver and the passengers were taken into custody. The former will be charged with human smuggling and the latter questioned and then escorted to the temporary security fence along the Serbian border, police said.

Meanwhile, another 23 border violators including five children, were found also in a Romanian registered van at Rojtokmuzsaj near the Austrian border on Tuesday morning, police said earlier in the day.

police illegal migrants
Read alsoSeventeen border violators found in van on motorway in Hungary

Austria increases control on Hungary border

Austrian Armed Forces

Austria has tightened control at the border with Hungary due to an increased inflow of illegal migrants, Austrian news agency APA said on Tuesday.

A battalion of the Austrian Armed Forces are patrolling the area between the villages of Oberpullendorf (Felsőpulya) and Neusiedler (Nezsider) using infrared cameras and drones, APA said.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer visited the region earlier in the day, and said the measures were designed to deter illegal migrants from trying to enter the country.

The Burgenland regional police have said that

so far, 5,400 illegal migrants have been detained in the border area this year.

In 2016, altogether 6,500 migrants attempted to cross the border during the entire year, the police said.

As we wrote today, due to increased migration, the Austrian Minister of Defence and Minister of the Interior are sending 400 soldiers to the Austrian-Hungarian border. Details HERE.

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Read alsoHungary police bust international human smuggling ring – VIDEO

Austria sends 400 soldiers to the Hungarian border

Austrian flag

Due to increased migration, the Austrian Minister of Defence and Minister of the Interior are sending 400 soldiers to the Austrian-Hungarian border.

Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer and Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner announced at a press conference that border protection would be strengthened due to the growing number of migrants arriving in Austria. Deutsche Welle writes that reinforced border protection currently means 400 soldiers.

If the situation worsens, they could send up to 2,000 soldiers to defend the borders.

“Austria is stepping up surveillance of its borders. The reason for this is that more and more migrants are coming to our country again,” said Interior Minister Karl Nehammer. Klaudia Tanner thinks similarly. Politicians from the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVB) reported on their experiences at a press conference in Vienna. Border protection initially means 400 soldiers. However, Tanner emphasised that they could deploy up to 2,000 soldiers if needed.

“The aim is to control migratory movements,”

said Tanner. “We are seeing an increase in the number of arrests at the Austrian border,” Nehammer added. The increase in migration is most significant on the Austrian-Hungarian border. However, they do not only strengthen the common border with Hungary. They also increase the strength of defence at their common borders with Slovenia and Slovakia. This year, 200 human traffickers have been caught, writes hvg.hu.

This year already 15,768 refugees were registered.

Last year this number was 21,700. Tanner has been critical of this. The Minister of Defence sharply criticised the European Commission. According to him, the European asylum system has failed. The measure introduced was welcomed by Christian Sagartz, leader of the easternmost province of Austria. Sagartz put it as an important signal in the fight against illegal migration.

In addition to illegal migration, the measures are aimed at effectively ending smuggling activities. In Sagartz’s view, all provinces and the whole of Austria could benefit from this. Right-wing politician Herbert Kickl welcomed the measure but also voiced criticism. He believes Nehammer is at least a year late with this decision, as 100 illegal migrants arrive in Austria every day.

Hungary allows entry to vaccinated Russian tourists

Hévíz

Hungary will allow entry to Russian visitors if they hold a Covid-19 immunity certificate as of Tuesday, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has announced.

The measure comes in response to Russia’s recent decision to resume issuing tourist and business visas to Hungarian citizens who hold a negative PCR test for coronavirus, Szijjártó said in a video posted on Facebook on Monday morning.

Szijjártó said the Hungarian government’s decision is aimed at reviving the country’s tourism sector which has been hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Hungary has always been a popular destination for Russians, and the fact that vaccinated Russian tourists can visit Hungary again will immensely help the sector,” Szijjártó said.

Hévíz
Read alsoHungary allows entry to vaccinated Russian tourists

European Commission sues Hungary over refugee rules

unhcr venezuelan

The European Commission has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the EU against Hungary for what the commission sees as Hungary’s unlawfully restricting the access of migrants to refugee procedures.

In a statement, the commission said that under an European directive concerning refugees, member states should ensure that citizens of third countries staying within or at their borders can physically submit an application for international protection even if they do not have documents to identify themselves.

Under Hungarian law, citizens of third countries are first required to submit a letter of intention at a Hungarian embassy across the EU and must obtain a special entry visa for Hungary.

The commission considers that requirement as an unlawful restriction since it prevents migrants in Hungary or at its borders from submitting an application for asylum in the country.

According to the commission, the Hungarian law’s declared aim to stem the coronavirus pandemic cannot justify such restrictions.

Commenting on the announcement, the Government Information Centre (KTK) said: “Brussels wants us to allow migrants into Hungary so they can submit their [asylum] requests here.” Once in the country, however, asylum seekers will not leave, the statement insisted. The government “will protect Hungarians who do not want their land to become an immigration country,” the KTK said.

The statement also noted the recent case of a migrant from Yemen who has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in broad daylight.

Yemeni man crime Budapest
Read alsoYemeni man charged with sexually abusing woman in Budapest – Video

Hungary’s immigration law enforcement strictest in the EU?

hungary border fence migration

In 2020, Hungary stopped the most immigrants to enter the European Union. 

To anyone interested in Hungary’s general politics and standpoint regarding immigration politics, it does not come as a surprise that Hungary is the strictest in the European Union when it comes to letting immigrants enter the country. 

Hungary continues to oppose against migrant settlement quota

The Central European state withheld 36,500 people at the borders.

This number represents 26% of the total EU statistics. 

In 2020, at the borders of the European Union, almost 138 thousand people were refused entry. Most of them were stopped in Hungary, writes the Eurostat report. Moreover, during the past year, over half a million people being illegally present in the EU were found. 400 thousand of them received an order to leave the EU member state in which they were found. 

In 2020, the number of those who were denied entry into any European Union country declined by 79%.

It means that fewer people tried to enter or travel through the EU in the first place.

Spain, for instance, registered 490 thousand fewer cases. Hungary denied most of these applications. They are followed by Poland (28 thousand people), Croatia (15 thousand people), and Romania (13 thousand people). 

Out of those 138 thousand who were refused entry, most of them were Ukrainians (56 thousand), Albanians (13 thousand), and Moldovans (10 thousand). 

When it comes to those more than 500 thousand people being illegally present in any EU country, their number declined, as well.

Most of them were caught in Germany (118 thousand). Hungary is in third place in this respect, after France. The former reported the illegal entry of 89 thousand, while the latter of 103 thousand. 

Compared to 2019, last year, 19% fewer people were ordered to leave.

It represents almost 400 thousand people. France reported the highest number of non-EU citizens, a little over 108 thousand. They were primarily from Algeria, Morocco, and Albania. 

As hvg.hu highlights, the report also analyses the number of those who received an order to leave the EU but decided to return. In 2020, there was a 51% reduction in this respect, as compared to 2019. It represents a little over 70 thousand people. They were primarily Albanians, Ukrainians, and Georgians wanting to settle down in Germany, the Netherlands, Greece or France. 

Viktor Orbán Interview
Read alsoPM Orbán: “Legions of migrants are banging on almost all European doors” – UPDATED

How to travel to Hungary this summer

Hungarian workforce - Passport Travel Luggage

Do I need to be vaccinated? Do I need to take a PCR test? Do I have to go to quarantine? Here is everything you need to know about travelling to Hungary this summer. 

After reaching the magic number of 5,5 million administered coronavirus vaccines, Hungary decided to ditch the masks in public places. The country is more than ready to welcome tourists this summer season by being the “safest green zone country” in the region.

Where do we still have to wear a mask? 

It means that everything is given for you to spend some time in the Hungarian capital or on the beach at one of Hungary’s beautiful lakes. 

444.hu collected all necessary details that you should consider before travelling to Hungary.

Since June 23,

there are no more restrictions or obligatory quarantine times for anyone travelling on the motorway from Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. 

The details below are in effect if you would travel from Ukraine or by plane. 

Hungarian citizens and their families without Hungarian citizenship

Hungarian citizens and their legitimate family members who do not possess Hungarian documentation, fall under the same category. 

 These family members are: 

  • Spouse (confirmed partner) 
  • Direct kinship
  • An adopted child, stepchild or a child he raises as his own
  • Adoptive parent, stepparent, or foster parent 
  • Sibling

In the case of a civil partnership, a verifying document authenticated by a notary is necessary. In all the other cases, a copy of the birth certificate confirming the kinship needs to be presented at the border. 

If the travelling Hungarian citizen or his family member have received the vaccine, the only question left is where he received it and with which vaccine he was inoculated. 

If someone was vaccinated in Hungary, only two documents need to be presented: the immunity certificate and a travelling document.

In case someone was vaccinated abroad, and he is entitled to the EU vaccine certificate, he, as well can enter the country without any restrictions.

It means that in both cases, there is no need for quarantine. 

If someone is not entitled to an EU vaccine certificate, he can still enter Hungary, however, only with the goal to acquire the Hungarian immunity certificate for the vaccine he had received.

In this case, the passenger has two options. He is either obligated, before travelling, to register online for obtaining the certificate, or he needs to present himself at a Government Window (Kormányablak) no later than 48 hours after entering the country. If this does not happen, quarantine is in effect. 

The list of the accepted vaccines is the following:

  • Pfizer 
  • AstraZeneca
  • Sinopharm
  • Sutnik V
  • Johnson&Johnson
  • Moderna

Moreover, the country in which he had received the vaccine, needs to be included on the following list:

  • European Union
  • OECD
  • NATO member state
  • Russian Federation 
  • People’s Republic of China
  • United Arab Emirates
  • The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States
  • Kingdom of Bahrain

Any person under the age of 18 is allowed to travel without restrictions if he is accompanied by an adult who complies with these criteria. 

If you are not vaccinated, of course, you can still enter Hungary. However, it will be a little bit more complicated. 

You either spend ten days in quarantine, or you have three options to avoid it:

  • A negative PCR test in English or Hungarian, taken no earlier than 72 hours before travelling
  • You can justify it with a PCR test that you have been through Covid-19, 15-180 days before travelling. The document justifying your claim needs to be printed, signed and it needs to contain the following statement: „Kijelentem, hogy az általam felmutatott igazoláson közöltek a valóságnak mindenben megfelelnek, és a közölt adatok teljeskörűek, hiánytalanok” (I hereby state that everything included on this documentation is correct and reflects the truth, no further data or information is needed)
  • If you have a business trip, you simply need a confirmation document that you need to print and sign. You can find the document here

Foreign citizens

All foreign citizens can enter Hungary without restrictions if they arrive on business or have the EU immunity certificate.

budapest downtown city center hungary spring
Read also“There will be no tourism here” Budapest hotels claim

Hungarian tourists to flood Croatia?

The number of Hungarian tourists visiting Croatia has increased by 90 percent to 54,000 in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2020, the director of the Croatian National Tourism Board Office in Hungary said on Tuesday.

The number of guest nights spent by Hungarians in the neighbouring country has gone up by 105 percent to 230,000 during the period, Ivana Herceg told a press conference.

Their most popular destinations were Rovinj, Vir, Crikvenica, Opatija and Porec, she said.

In the current season Hungarian tourists again have the option to travel to Croatia by plane with Ryanair resuming flights between Budapest and Zadar twice a week from July until October.

They can also choose to travel by train using Czech RegioJet’s Budapest-Rijeka and Budapest-Split services daily between July and August, or three times a week in September, Herceg said.

As regards regulations related to the coronavirus pandemic, Herceg noted that Hungarian citizens can travel by car or by train to Croatia without any restrictions and are not required to hold a Covid immunity certificate to return home. Hungarians travelling by plane, however, are required to either present an immunity certificate or a PCR test or self-isolate upon arrival.

According to statistics released earlier, more than 220,000 Hungarian tourists visited Croatia in 2020, 65 percent less than a record 644,000 in 2019.

Croatia sea coast
Read alsoCroatia opens borders to ‘green’ EU countries including Hungary

Fidesz: EU should focus on creating effective border protection system

hungary border fence migration

The European Union should concentrate on creating an effective border protection system that can prevent illegal immigrants from entering the bloc, Barna Pál Zsigmond, a lawmaker of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, said after taking part in a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg on Thursday.

“It’s sad that the Brussels elite is constantly putting forward new proposals concerning mandatory migrant redistribution quotas, which they could force onto member states, Zsigmond told MTI after the session focusing on migration.

Hungary did not build a fence on its border to be isolated from the rest of Europe, but to protect its borders and the European way of life from illegal immigrants, Zsigmond said.

“Brussels is constantly trying to shatter the unity of countries that oppose immigration, but Hungary is committed to its policy of providing help where it is needed rather than importing trouble to Europe,” he said.

Zsigmond also said that it was “hypocritical” of Greece to appeal to the EU for financial aid to help combat migration pressure while expecting other member states to take in the migrants stranded in the country.

hungary border fence migration
Read alsoFidesz: EU should focus on creating effective border protection system

Breaking – Hungary offers to vaccinate frontier commuters

Hungary vaccine border
Hungary will offer to inoculate foreign nationals living in border regions against the coronavirus from July, the government said on its website late on Tuesday.
 
Foreign nationals living in areas along the borders Hungary shares with Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia will be able to get a Covid jab at designated inoculation sites in Hungary.
 
Registration will take place on site. People will not be permitted to select the vaccine administered but will get the Covid jab that is available.
 
Offering the vaccine to foreign nationals aged 18 and older will contribute to the pandemic defence of Hungarian nationals and Hungarians living in border regions outside of the country, the government said. Details of the measure will be published in a decree on Monday. Hungary has inoculated more than half of its population against the coronavirus.
 
Hungary coronavirus map
https://koronavirus.gov.hu/terkepek/fertozottek
Eight patients died over the past 24 hours, while 91 new infections were registered, koronavirus.gov.hu said on Wednesday.
 
So far 5,431,713 people have received a first jab, while 4,619,877 have been fully vaccinated.
 
The number of active infections has declined to 41,417, while hospitals are treating 241 Covid patients, 32 of whom need respiratory assistance. There are 3,322 people in official quarantine, while 6,073,516 tests have been officially carried out.

Since the first outbreak, 807,775 infections have been registered, while fatalities have risen to 29,971. Fully 736,387 people have made a recovery. So far, most infections have been registered in Budapest and Pest County, followed by the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Győr-Moson-Sopron and Hajdú-Bihar.