Hungarian Conservative

In his remarks Minister Szijjártó highlighted the extensive border shared by Hungary and Slovakia, spanning 654 kilometres. He noted that this border facilitated a record-breaking 17 billion euros in trade last year. Consequently, both governments consider it a strategic imperative to further increase the number of border crossings between the two countries.

Hungarian Ombudsman Ákos Kozma urged his Austrian counterpart Gaby Schwarz in a letter sent earlier this week to help find a solution to the conflict around the Ágfalva–Schattendorf border crossing.

Although it is perfectly legitimate to suggest that the noise pollution caused by the huge number of vehicles passing through his town needs to be addressed, the solution is not to penalise those who cross the border. Possible, more constructive solutions may include the improvement of the community transport infrastructure at local level or the opening of new crossing points so that those wishing to enter Austria are distributed more proportionately.