Romania - Hungary border region

• Author: Viaggi, Raffaele; Rubio, Jean; Peyrony, Jean
• Pages: 49-50

ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF BORDER-RELATED MEASURE S TAKEN BY MS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

CASE STUDIES

49

Romania – Hungary border

region

Border controls and

cross-border mobility

(Reduced crossings

points, type of controls,

congestion, CB public

transport…)

In March, the border was closed hermetically. Although there were

some exceptions, the majority of people could not cross the border.

The border was closed from the Hungarian side: Romania allowed

people to enter. Body temperature was checked sporadically, mostly

on the Romanian side. There was also a rule according to which peo-

ple could cross the border for 24 hours within a 30 km radius without

any justification. Even though the rules were the same for every

border section, there were some designated border crossings for

passenger and for freight traffic, which kept operating all along.

CB buses and trains were suspended.

CB coordination and

dialogue during the

crisis and the de-con-

tainment phase

(Evolution in border con-

trols and effects of the

lifting of border controls)

For people living in the region it seemed that the decisions were

made exclusively in Budapest and Bucharest, without coordination

and without consulting local authorities. They had the impression

that new rules were coming continuously, and they were unable to

follow the most up-to-date status.

Impact on cross-bor-

der workers

(Remote working and

taxation, social security,

unemployment…)

Similar experiences as on the other Hungarian border sections,

namely, that after a couple of days people could return to commute.

The share of people losing their jobs was extremely low. However,

the case of seasonal workers –characteristic for this region –was

problematic as they did not fall into the 24-hour rule as they usually

come for 3-4 months at once, so the regulations had to be expanded

to include them as well.

Impact on the users

of cross-border public

services (CPS)

The cross-border relations got reduced to only communication. For

instance, in the Romanian Scueni regular floods took place and usu-

ally volunteers and firefighters from Hungary offer their support. Due

to the coronavirus, this year they were unable to go.