MAE: Transit corridor to faciliate circulation of blocked transport means on various routes and borders

A transit corridor to facilitate the circulation of the transport means blocked on various routes and at various border points was shaped up following the demarches the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) made on diplomatic channels, in the context of the developments related to the management and prevention of COVID-19. "Over the recent days, demarches have been made both with the authorities in the region and on European level, to request the identification of some solutions on the grounds of the restrictive measures adopted in the region for the COVID-19 management. Thus, on diplomatic channels, there were contacted the relevant authorities in the states in the region, on the routes where blockages have been signalled - Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Hungary - aimed at allowing transit to Romania," a MAE release reads. At the same time, demarches with the European Commission have been made, for the support, on a EU level, for the states in the region to make coordinated efforts to conduct a fast and common transit procedure, which would be managed by the relevant institutions from the states on the route. "In this context and for speeding up the implementation of this solution agreed in principle, Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu on Saturday, March 14, had a telephone conversation with the new Slovenian Foreign Minister, Anze Logar, who took over the mandate on March 13 in the evening," the release shows. Aurescu explained the entire context and the importance of conducting some common efforts for unblocking the situation created, including at the border between Italy and Slovenia, through the urgent resumption of the transit through Slovenia and the establishment of a transit corridor on a regional level. The Slovenian counterpart voiced openness for solving the situation created and understands the concern of the Romanian side, the new Slovenian Government going to discuss the identification of a solution. "The Foreign Affairs Ministry will continue to seek and facilitate, within the boundary of its prerogatives, finding a fast solution for implementing this transit corridor, a solution that requires a consensus of all the countries that are going to be transited," the source points out. The MAE also brings to mind that, in this specific context, a series of European states have decided specific restrictive measures to manage and prevent the COVID-19 epidemic, and the efforts made by the Romanian side are restricted to the framework of these decisions. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Alexandru Florea, editor: Florin Marin; EN - editor: Adina Panaitescu)