Romanian Transport Minister Ludovic Orban attacked the comments of Hungarian ambassador in Bucharest Oszkár Füzes on Thursday. Füzes had earlier criticised the slowness of the construction of the motorway in north Transylvania, saying the Hungarian end has made more progress and only has to build 30 kilometres to the border.
Ludovic said he would not make such a statement on infrastructure development in Hungary, and advised Füzes to concern himself with his own country. Barely five of 415 kilometres of the North Transylvanian motorway have been completed in the last four years, Magyar Hírlap notes.
Good for you Ludovic, tell him to buzz off!!!
“….advised Füzes to concern himself with his own country.”
Considering it as taken Hungary almost 20 years to construct the Budapest ring,and it is still not complete (will it ever be ??) I think this Fidesz man should have kept quiet,instead of trying to gain sympathy votes from Romanian Hungarians.
There is a troublesome sub-text to this story, and it is not just about a road. The testiness has another cause: boundaries have changed a lot here over the years. In this part of Europe, you for the most part have weak nations that have lost territory to one another over the centuries. The weakness and vulnerability to being robbed by your neighbors makes for insecurity. Something as banal as the building of an inter-connecting highway can cause tension and high drama. Recall how Hitler wanted to build an extension of the Autobahn through the Polish Corridor, connecting Pommerania to East Prussia. The Poles did not want to allow it.
The Romanians must be very ambivalent about this proposed highway! Building it and other connections with Hungary, a nation higher up on the GDP ladder, opens up the possibility that Transylvania could become “re-influenced” by the Magyars, either economically, or through ownership or even an outright takeover. Not building it would work to isolate Romania from full EU integration. (What to do, fly over Hungary on the way to Austria!?) The Romanians can’t be very happy about it either way.
To a Romanian friend I put it this way; territory like Translyvania, or Kosovo, which constantly changes hands over time, is more like a ball in a football game. It doesn’t truly “belong” to either team; the “ball” simply changes hands and is controlled by the “stronger” team. When your side “fumbles”, the other team scores or carries the ball.
I agree, NOT THE ROAD, his arrogant meddling is the problem! Would they do it in the US?? — Mr fidesz would immediately bounce back to Hungary!
Well, I’ve bumped along some terrible roads in the US…