The Hungarian government has reversed its plans to build a refugee camp close to the Austrian border, according to officials.
Instead, the former vocational school near the town of Vitnyéd is expected to be used as a holiday camp for young people, said Hungarian Minister of the Chancellery Gergely Gulyás, as reported by the official news agency MTI on Thursday evening.
The proposed refugee camp had sparked unrest in the town, which lies just a few kilometres from Austria’s easternmost province of Burgenland, and provoked a strong response from Austrian officials.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner had threatened to impose stricter border controls if asylum seekers were settled on the grounds. Meanwhile, Burgenland’s Governor Hans-Peter Doskozil announced he would prepare for the closure of border crossings unless Hungary abandoned its plans.
Hungarian media reported in recent weeks on construction work at the site near Vitnyéd. Until recently, refugee families from Ukraine had lived on part of the former Csermajor estate. After their departure, the area was fenced off, and construction has been ongoing since then.
Last Sunday, a demonstration by local residents took place, attended by hundreds who demanded clear information about what was to be built on the site.