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Hungary's Foreign Minister: I politely invite Austrian colleagues not to block again Romania's accession to Schengen
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday, during a meeting he had with Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu, that he politely invited his Austrian colleagues not to block Romania's accession to the Schengen area again this autumn and to agree to this, which is in the interest of Romania and Hungary.
"I politely invite my Austrian colleagues, not to say urge them, not to block again this autumn and to agree to Romania's, our Romanian friends', accession to the Schengen area. Hungary's national interest is that Romania joins the Schengen area this year; from that moment on we will have 10 new common border crossing points and we will not have to wait at any of the border crossing points. Romania is the third most important export market for us, it is a preferred place of investment for Hungarian capital, we have Hungarian communities living and residing on the territory of both countries. The time has come not to disturb the connection and cooperation between the two countries through border crossings. We hope that this autumn's decision on Romania's accession to the Schengen area will be based on real facts, and for the end of September we have convened the meeting of the Transport Working Group between the two countries, where the timetable for the two agreements signed today will be set," said Minister Peter Szijjarto.
Minister Sorin Grindeanu signed on Friday in Timisoara two memoranda with the head of the Hungarian diplomacy, Peter Szijjarto, which will lead to the development of bilateral relations, and everything related to putting into operation routes that should be even better crossing between the two countries.
"The first memorandum signed today is related to the opening of a new border crossing point between Beba Veche - Kubekhasza, things have been technically validated by experts from both countries, so that an optimal solution agreed by both countries has been reached, for the enhancement of a locality with a strong symbolic impact for us, namely Beba Veche, through the Triplex Confinium (common point where the borders between Romania, Hungary and Vojvodina meet - ed. n.), is the westernmost locality in Romania (...). On our side, the project will be carried out through CNAIR, which will lead to sources of funding from the state budget or other sources that we can identify in the coming period," Sorin Grindeanu detailed.
The Minister of Transport added that the second memorandum signed, equally important, is the bridge over the Mures at Cenad.
"This bridge is not only of symbolic importance, but also represents a real need in our region to better promote cooperation between the two countries. It also has an economic importance for Timis County and that is why I believe that the Timis County Council must be actively involved in the development of this project. The project enjoys the support of local, regional and central public authorities. Today, we are also establishing certain stages that will be carried out at the end of September," Grindeanu said.
At the end of his speech, Sorin Grindeanu thanked the Hungarian Government for supporting Romania's accession to the Schengen area, "Hungary being one of the main supporters" in this matter.
Minister Szijjarto also stressed the importance of signing the two agreements, as the more border crossing points there are, the closer the bilateral cooperation will be.
"The border does not separate us, but links us to the other side of the border. That is why we have reached that Strategic Agreement with the Romanian Government, to increase the number of border crossing points along the Romanian-Hungarian border. The next few years will be about major road construction on the border between the two countries. At the moment the construction of the two motorway links is underway, with completion in 2025 and 2030 (...). We are rebuilding the bridge over the Mures, destroyed in 1940," said the Hungarian official.
With these two new border crossing points, the total number of border crossing points will reach 14, and if Romania is accepted into Schengen, the figure will quickly rise to 26.
(Photo: www.news.ro)