Reports: Hungary’s next fence will be on Slovenian border
Wikimedia Commons/Délmagyarország/Schmidt Andrea
In its continuing effort to stem the traffic of refugees, Hungary is planning to build a fence on its border with Slovenia – adding to the fence that has sealed off the Serbian border and the two that are going up on the frontiers of Croatia and Romania, according to reports. This would be Hungary’s first fence along a Schengen border.
The fence on the Hungarian-Serbian border. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Délmagyarország/Andrea Schmidt)
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said he consulted with his Slovenian counterpart on the possible erection of the fence, Hungarian online daily index.hu reported late yesterday. Szijjártó reportedly added that Hungary is “not building a permanent border protecting infrastructure” on Slovenia’s border.
“If conditions justify the need of temporary physical border protection, then its establishment can only take place with prior negotiations with the Slovenian part,” an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade says. The ministry added that the two countries have discussed necessary steps in the event that Croatia begins transporting refugees towards Slovenia.
Cabinet Chief János Lázár said yesterday that the erection of the fence on the Slovenian border is unavoidable, and the installments of razor wires has already begun. Index.hu reported that both the Hungarian police and the army worked yesterday at the border crossings with Slovenia. Hungarian news agency MTI reported yesterday that mobile gates have been brought to the border crossings, and soldiers were installing razor wires along the border with Slovenia.
Hungary has built a “temporary” fence on the entire Serbian border, and has been constructing fences on the Croatian and Romanian borders. The fence on the Serbian border has forced refugees flowing up from the Balkans and toward Germany to modify their routes, and they are now entering Hungary through Croatia, which is an EU member country but not a member of the Schengen Treaty.
Slovenia is an EU member and, like Hungary, it is in the Schengen Zone, which is supposed to be an area of open borders.
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