“Austria is in relation to the opening the border too Slovenia still quite inflexible, although our epidemiological picture is the same or even better than in Austria“said the Slovenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksander Gerzina on Friday of the STA news agency.
“We expect that Austria this position is changing and soon the borders for the free movement of people will open “, demanded the former Slovenian ambassador in Vienna. Bilateral relations are fundamentally good, but what has been happening in the past few weeks is “contrary to the European spirit, the good neighborly relations and the rules of free movement of people”.
Keep at home
Gerzina stated that many Austrians vacationed in Slovenia and Croatia want to spend, both of whom would have a similarly good epidemiological situation. “Apparently the desire to keep tourists is so great that we cannot move in a positive direction,” he said. He referred to rumored information that Austria the border too Slovenia therefore keep closed to keep Austrian vacationers at home.
Similar comments were made in one of the APA the current Slovenian ambassador in Vienna, Ksenija Skrilec. She pointed out that it was in Slovenia haven’t had a new corona case in four days. In the past two weeks there were only 18, compared to 674 cases in Austria In the same period.
Almost completely free of Covid-19
“The Slovenian government is striving for a bilateral agreement with the Austrian “, emphasized Skrilec. She noted that Prime Minister Janez Jansa only on Tuesday with Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and for Monday also a conversation between the two interior ministers Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and Ales Hojs was agreed.
Jansa appeared on Friday’s news channel BBC World on where he Slovenia extensively advertised in a four-minute interview as a “safe country” for coronavirus. “Because we are now an almost completely Covid-19-free country, we can start the tourism season on June 1st,” said Jansa. The corona virus is in Slovenia “completely under control”. Asked about coordinated Border opening in Europe said Jansathat this should take place in mid-June. “Some states could do that earlier, including us.”
At Croatia there are hardly any restrictions with Hungary and Austria be “close to an agreement” Jansa. There are only bigger problems Italy, but also in the immediate Slovenia adjacent region Friuli-Venezia Giulia be “the situation is very good”.
Still waiting…
Slovenia surprisingly had that on Friday opening all of its borders for citizens of the Union were announced, but this decision was withdrawn two days later and made dependent on bilateral agreements with the countries concerned. While Austria for a quick opening With Germany tried and at the weekend the border regime to this, the Switzerland as well as Czech Republic, the Slovakia and Hungary relaxed, must Slovenia as the only neighboring country alongside Italy still waiting.
The Carinthian governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ) expressed the expectation that the liberalization of the border regime Slovenia “at least at the same time” with Germany and the Switzerland successes with which Austria had basically agreed on an end to the controls on June 15.
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