Border crossings to Hungary and Slovakia reopened - relief in Burgenland!

Border crossings to Hungary and Slovakia reopened - relief in Burgenland!

With the end of Tuesday, May 20, 2025, the last restricted zones in Burgenland and Lower Austria, which have been set up in connection with the mouth and claw disease (MKS). According to Kleine Zeitung will also be reopened with small border crossings to Hungary and Slovakia, which were closed at the beginning of April. At the same time, however, there are certain hygiene and bios safety measures.

State Secretary of Health Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (SPÖ) described the successful course of coping with crisis as positive. It was possible to prevent the MKS from being introduced to Austria, which was achieved, among other things, by working with the rural companies and the use of the Federal Army. Agriculture Minister Norbert Tettschnig (ÖVP) emphasized that negligence continues to be a risk despite the positive development.

Details on the border closings

The measures to close 24 border crossings to Hungary and Slovakia came into force on April 5, 2025, such as Arboe . The border crossings that remained blocked to prevent the disease from spreading included:

• Angern-March/Zahorska Ves
• Marchegg/Vysoká Pri Morave
• Andau/Jánossomorja
• Halbturn/Várbalog
• German Jahrndorf/Rajka

The reopening of these transitions should take place by May 20, 2025. However, it remains to be mentioned that the open border crossings will continue to be checked, which in some cases could lead to longer waiting times. Special precautions are planned to ensure security at the controlled transitions such as Nickelsdorf/Hegyeshalom and Klingenbach/Sopron.

constant organic security measures

In the entire federal territory, general organic security measures apply that apply to the various companies with recommended animals. As LKO highlights, all companies that keep cattle, pigs or goats, self-responsibly introduce organic safety measures. These measures are important to prevent the spread of MKS and have to be implemented at your own expense.

Its effectiveness has already shown this strategy in the past few months: Around 20,000 samples have been taken to see the MKS examination in Austria since the tests started in March, and everyone was negative. Nevertheless, new cases were reported in Hungary and Slovakia in mid -April, which underlines the need for caution.

The Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) emphasized the important contribution of the Federal Army to Copial for Crisis, which was active for several weeks in order to prevent the introduction of the MKS. The nationwide measures and successful prevention have contributed to stabilizing the situation in Austria and planning a further procedure.