Foreign Ministry:Hungary allows time-limited one-off transit corridor for Romanians headed home via Austria

The Hungarian authorities will allow Romanian citizens headed home from the Austrian border to transit Hungary between March 17, 21:00 hrs and March 18, 5:00 hrs Hungary time; they can return to Romania on the routes indicated by the Hungarian authorities and will be directed to four border checkpoints to enter Romania, specifically Nadlac1, Nadlac 2, Bors and Cenad, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a release. This is a one-off measure allowing travellers to transit Hungary from Austria in order to return to Romania only in this time window. The Foreign Affairs Ministry calls on the Romanian citizens to show calm and responsibility, to carefully follow the instructions of the Hungarian authorities and traffic rules so that they make a safe return to the country. In a phone call this Tuesday, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu asked his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto to create an emergency humanitarian corridor to allow the continuous transit through Hungary to Romania of all the Romanian citizens who were left stuck at Hungary's border with Austria. The discussion of the two ministers occurred as Hungary decided to close its borders to human traffic as of March 17 at midnight; in absence of a prior official notification, this caused blockages at the border between Austria and Hungary in the direction of Hungary, the Foreign Ministry said. In this context and amid multiple signals received from the Romanian citizens headed home from several European states who were left stuck at the Nickelsdorf border point, Minister Bogdan Aurescu signaled the humanitarian situation generated by the presence of a considerable number of families with children and elder persons and asked the Hungarian authorities to allow them to transit the Hungarian territory. AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author/editor: Simona Klodnischi)