The dispute over the A3 expansion is part of a larger issue concerning border access between Austria and Hungary.Continue reading
The construction of the missing 10-kilometer section between the Hungarian M85 motorway and the A3 motorway in Austria is not a party political or ideological issue, but a practical matter, said Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, on Wednesday in Vienna, after talks with Norbert Hofer, the Austrian Freedom Party’s (FPÖ) top candidate for Burgenland.
Gergely Gulyás stressed that the construction of the missing motorway section was important for both Hungary and Austria. This is an issue on which the government is looking for allies in potential partners, including the FPÖ, and has also sought allies in the current provincial leadership.
The minister pointed out that
Hungary has built the M85 motorway to the border, but the Austrians have stopped at Eisenstadt (Kismarton), and “for reasons that are difficult to explain, usually environmental reasons,” the incumbent provincial leadership does not want to build the missing section, despite earlier promises.
Gulyás is confident that whoever comes to power after Sunday’s provincial elections in Burgenland will see how important the construction of the missing section is for Sopron and its region, as well as for Burgenland. “It is an impossible situation” that two motorways do not meet for less than 10 kilometers, he emphasized, adding that there was no financial reason why Austria was not building it.
Part of the M85 motorway in Hungary. Photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán
The Hungarian politician also said that the government was pleased that the FPÖ had won the Austrian parliamentary elections in September and had been given the mandate to form a government, if not immediately. He expressed the hope that Austria would soon have a stable government with FPÖ and ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party), which would be one of the most sovereigntist governments in Europe.
The minister recalled that in previous years, they had also tried to work with Hans-Peter Doskozil, the Social Democrat leader of the province of Burgenland. This cooperation had been successful in many areas, but his promises to build the missing section between the two motorways had not materialized. He added that
in Burgenland, the provincial leadership has been almost exclusively left-wing since the 1960s, but whoever wins the elections, the Hungarian government would like to cooperate with everyone on this issue, because regardless of the election result, it is important that this issue is resolved.
The red circle shows the missing 10-kilometer section between the two motorways. Photo: Ungarn Heute
Norbert Hofer, the FPÖ’s top candidate in Sunday’s provincial election in Burgenland, said that the construction of the missing section between the two motorways would be of European importance. He pointed out that it would also serve a congestion-relieving function, as it would reduce through-traffic in small villages near the border, which regularly causes congestion. He stressed that anyone with common sense knows exactly what the consequences of the new section would be for the people living in the area.
The Austrian municipality put up bollards at the border in 2023, making free border crossing impossible. From July of that year, only people with a permit and who paid a fee of 160 euros were allowed to cross the border between Schattendorf and Ágfalva. The fee is valid for two years and can mostly be redeemed in shops in the Austrian municipality, but commuters still feel it is unfair. Another problem is that border crossing permits were distributed unequally, with Austrian citizens being given preference over Hungarians.
Now, the Schattendorf border dispute has ended up before the Austrian Constitutional Court, with a decision on the matter expected by summer that will be binding for the municipality of Schattendorf.
Via MTI, Featured photo via MTI/Filep István