It is easier for a Czech tourist to come to Hungary than for a Hungarian working abroad – opinion

As we reported before, Hungary closed its borders to international tourism but later it made some exceptions, for example, the V4 countries. As a result, it is harder for Hungarians working abroad to return home than for the Czechs and the Slovakians to come to Hungary as tourists. You can read below the thoughts of Márton Gyöngyösi, MEP of Jobbik about this issue published on his website, gyongyosimarton.com.

Hungary’s sealed borders – The Weekly 20

The Hungarian government’s announcement to seal the country’s borders as of 1 September on account of the coronavirus pandemic is deeply concerning for several reasons. It goes beyond this post to demonstrate how many sections of the Schengen Code are violated by the Hungarian government’s hastily announced decision, which is so reminiscent of the Iron Curtain from the bad practices of cold war times.

It is clear for the European Commission and the general public alike that to order the restriction of free movement, which is considered as one of the EU’s greatest achievements, with such drastic haste and without any transitionary period violates the obligation of cooperation within the EU and the principle of proportionality since you are expected to use such ultimate measures with respect to the principle of graduality, even in emergencies.

As far as graduality and consistency is concerned, it is enough to say that just a few days before sealing the borders, Hungary labelled most European countries as green (i.e., safe), while Viktor Orbán was urging Hungarians to spend their holiday at the Adriatic…

Hungarian citizens rightfully feel injustice about how their government, true to the tradition of Hungarian legislation, made sure to plant some loopholes in the restrictive measures to exempt certain individuals involved in some favoured activity. Besides the privileged persons with diplomatic passes, football players and hunters were granted the feudal prerogative of exemption from the ban, thanks to the Hungarian Prime Minister’s football mania and Deputy PM Zsolt Semjén’s enthusiasm for hunting. The exemption is also extended to the citizens of a few Central European countries which the Orbán government maintains good relations with.

This resulted in the odd situation that a Czech tourist can now travel to Hungary but a Hungarian citizen working in Germany cannot, for example.

After already maxing out on authoritarian executive practices, the government no longer has any concern as to how much these exemptions from the drastic bans will undermine the already shaking foundations of the rule of law in Hungary. Apparently, neither do they care how the Hungarian tourism and hospitality industry or shipping and trading companies could survive this year that has already put them through so much ordeal. Although it is harder to show in numbers, but blocking the movement of Hungarian workers who were forced to take a job abroad because of the low wages in Hungary will cause enormous social tensions, especially in the western part of the country.