Four more crossings on Slovenia-Austria border to close

Ljubljana, 1 April - Only nine points on the Slovenian-Austrian border will be open as of 2 April after the Austrian government has put in place additional restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The border points at Karavanke, Šentilj (the motorway and rail crossing), Gornja Radgona and Kuzma will operate around the clock. Trate, Radlje and Ljubelj will be open from 5am to 9pm, while Vič will be open between 5am and 11pm.

Holmec, Jurij, Korensko Sedlo and the crossing in Šentilj that is on the main road will be closed, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

The prospect of the Holmec crossing closing has upset people in the Slovenian border region Koroška, many of whom use it for their daily commute to work in Austria.

The region's mayors have thus appealed to the ministries of foreign and interior affairs for the crossing to remain open just like the other two crossings connecting the region with Austria, Radelj and Vič.

Austria had initially closed dozens on crossing points as of 18 March. On 27 March Slovenia reintroduced police checks on what is the EU's internal border and introduced 13 points of crossing.

There are now restrictions in place on all of Slovenia's borders, either introduced by Slovenia or by the neighbouring countries.

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© STA, 2020