Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó held several sets of talks with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Tomáš Petříček and Slovakian Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok on Monday and Tuesday concerning the possible easing of the restrictions introduced with relation to traffic across Hungary’s common borders with the countries in question.
“The coronavirus pandemic has drastically changed the European Union’s economic prospects, and accordingly it is in the common interests of all EU member states for rapid and equitable measures to also be introduced at EU level”, Minister of Finance Mihály Varga declared during a videoconference of EU economy ministers on Tuesday.
In the past two weeks, the number of businesses submitting applications for the job protection wage support programme has increased dramatically, the Minister of State for Employment Policy at the Ministry for Innovation and Technology said at the Tuesday online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic.
The rule remains in effect that all health care services can only be used after the prior booking of an appointment by telephone, the Chief Medical Officer underlined at the Tuesday online press conference of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic.
As many as 737 persons are now using the mobile phone application that is designed to monitor persons in compulsory home quarantine, a staff member of the duty centre of the Operational Group responsible for the containment of the coronavirus epidemic said at an online press conference held on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, the V4+Germany summit – which focused on the coronavirus crisis – was held as part of an online conference, Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief informed the Hungarian news agency MTI.
“The restrictive measures introduced along our borders because of the coronavirus epidemic must be lifted”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on his Facebook page on Monday following talks with Slovenian Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. According to Mr. Szijjártó’s post, the two ministers expressed their mutual appreciation of each other’s handling of the global pandemic.
“We must strive to achieve a rational and prudent balance with relation to protecting against the virus, with due attention to protecting health, rebooting the economy and successfully returning to normal life”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in his pre-agenda speech before Parliament on Monday.
The government does not accept the judgement of the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union about transit zones, and is examining whether their operation is in any way contrary to the Hungarian Constitution, the Chief Security Advisor to the Prime Minister said on the public service television news channel M1.
“The Fidesz-KDNP majority and the government in Hungary are doing everything possible to assure that the fence remains in place and its guarding by military and police personnel continues, and that the transit zones continue to function”, the Ministry of Defence’s Parliamentary State Secretary declared in a statement to public media at the Röszke transit zone on Sunday.