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Border tight: Merkel opponent Orban plunges Hungary into corona chaos - affront to Germany and EU partners

2020-08-29T17:01:20.004Z


Corona hammer from Budapest: Hungary closes its borders with Austria, among others, due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities seem completely overwhelmed.


Corona hammer from Budapest: Hungary closes its borders with Austria, among others, due to the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The authorities seem completely overwhelmed.

  • Coronavirus pandemic * in Europe: Hungary is closing its borders because of the second corona wave * .
  • The border to Austria , for example , will be closed from September 1st and initially for one month.
  • However, there are exception rules for countries in which the risk of infection with Covid-19 * is rated as very low.

Update from August 29, 6.15 p.m.: The day after the decision to close the borders because of Covid-19 from September 1, the corona chaos apparently reigns in Hungary .

The official and state-owned tourism authority seemed hopelessly overwhelmed with the new situation this Saturday. And taken by surprise? On Friday evening, the tourist information announced via Facebook posting, among other things, that it would revise its own information pages on Covid-19 . On Saturday evening, as of 6.15 p.m., this had still not happened.

Border closure due to Corona in Hungary: Viktor Orban apparently takes his own tourism authority by surprise

Instead, the information page on the corona pandemic says, for example: " Hungary is safe." Or: "Foreign citizens can enter Hungary in accordance with the relevant official regulations in force due to the current epidemic situation." This passage is currently still valid, but only now until Tuesday, September 1st. Then entry is only permitted for at least one month with a valid reason.

Also on Facebook there was no new information from the tourism authority for potential vacationers , not even for those who have already booked a vacation between Lake Balaton and Budapest . Instead, the tourism authority posted an image film from Instagram, which was obviously implemented before Prime Minister Viktor Orban's decision to plunge his country into corona chaos .

Angela Merkel's adversary: ​​Viktor Orban's confidante causes affront due to Corona

To classify: The 57-year-old right-wing populist politician is known for his activism and stubbornness, since the so-called refugee crisis Orban has been a sharp opponent of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) at the level of the European Union (EU ) .

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Nickelsdorf: A border official checks a driver in the corona pandemic on the Austro-Hungarian border.

© Harald Schneider / dpa

Apparently Hungary's partners have not been well informed either. The Federal Foreign Office wrote on its website on Saturday: “As of September 1st, new entry regulations will apply to Hungary . According to this, foreign travelers should only be allowed to enter in exceptional cases. Details are not yet known. "

The day before, Orban's chief of staff Gergely Gulyás had caused an affront to Germany and the other EU partners. According to ORF correspondent Ernst Gelegs, with a view to Corona and the traffic light system that applies in many places, he said: “ Hungary is green, everything else is red!” The Hungarian border police are now facing a Herculean task: with Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, the Ukraine and Slovakia , seven countries border on Hungarian territory.

Corona pandemic: Hungary closes its borders with Austria, among others

First report from August 28th: ​​Munich / Budapest - This news is causing a stir in the coronavirus pandemic . While countries such as Spain, France and Germany are again struggling with increasing Covid 19 case numbers in the Corona crisis , Hungary is closing its borders - including Austria .

"From September 1st, foreign nationals will be refused entry into Hungarian territory," said Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on this Friday evening. Corona hammer from Budapest!

Shortly before , Hungary had been busy advertising holidays in the Eastern European country through various channels - as demonstrated, among other things, by an image film of the capital Budapest on YouTube, which alludes to the Europe-wide lockdowns.

Border closure in the corona pandemic: Hungary's tourism authority looks taken by surprise

At the end of the video it says: “Budapest awaits you”. In German: “Budapest awaits you.” Lake Balaton near the border with the Austrian Burgenland is also a popular travel destination for holidaymakers from Germany and Austria.

The Orban's decision was apparently taken unexpectedly even by its own tourism authority. On Friday evening (August 28th) around 8 p.m., she published a “Covid-19 update” on Facebook, among other things, according to which her own information pages on Corona still have to be updated.

#Hungary closes from Sept. 1 its limits for all foreigners, including EU citizens. When asked about d. current Corona traffic light regulation said Chancellery Minister G. Gulyás: "Hungary is green, everything else is red!"

- Ernst Gelegs (@Gelegs) August 28, 2020

The Hungarian government justified its drastic measure by saying that most of the corona infections originated abroad. As the Austrian ORF correspondent for Hungary , Ernst Gelegs, wrote on Twitter , Chancellery Minister Gulyás continued: "Hungary is green, everything else is red!"

According to official information, Hungary has so far been relatively spared in the coronavirus pandemic - around 5500 infections and around 600 deaths related to Covid-19 have been counted. However, the numbers are difficult to verify.

Coronavirus pandemic: Hungarians have to show two negative corona tests

One thing is certain: Hungarian nationals will also have to adapt properly from September 1st. According to the new regulations, you are only allowed to enter your home country from abroad if you can show two negative corona tests or go into quarantine for 14 days .

The border closure should initially apply for a month. With the respective federal governments in Berlin and Vienna, the news is already causing a need to talk to Budapest. (pm) * Merkur.de is part of the Germany-wide Ippen-Digital editors network

List of rubric lists: © Wolfgang Kumm / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-08-29

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