Burgenland court rules Austrian-Hungarian border closure unlawful

The closure of the border crossing between Ágfalva, Hungary, and Schattendorf, Austria, has been declared unconstitutional by the Burgenland Administrative Court. The municipality of Schattendorf introduced the closure in 2023, citing a pedestrian zone project, forcing Hungarian commuters to take a 30-kilometre detour.

According to Telex, the international law firm NZP Nagy Legal filed a lawsuit against the municipality, arguing that the closure violated EU law and constitutional principles. The court agreed, identifying multiple issues, including the lack of public consultation, the municipality’s lack of authority to enact the closure, and the absence of road safety justification. Instead, the closure was found to target commuter traffic explicitly.

Further concerns arose over the integrity of the expert opinion supporting the closure. The expert, reportedly a personal acquaintance of Schattendorf’s mayor, lacked relevant traffic engineering qualifications. The court deemed the opinion inconsistent and unsubstantiated. Additionally, the closure was criticised for infringing on the constitutional principle of equality before the law. While some individuals could pay a EUR 160 fee for exceptional crossing rights, most requests were denied, even in cases of work or family ties.

The Austrian Constitutional Court will now review the case to determine if the municipality’s decree should be annulled. This ruling is seen as a significant step toward addressing what critics have called a “modern iron curtain” in the region.

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