Borders with Hungary and Czech Republic to be immovable

On Monday we informed you of an initiative through which Slovakia might exchange small pieces of its territories and alter the state border with some of its neighbours, especially those that lead through a river bed and are thus movable. On Wednesday the Government decided that state borders with Hungary and the Czech Republic will be immovable along entire stretches where they are formed by rivers. According to the decision, an immovable state border means that the border won't have to be adjusted to match the natural course of the riverbed. This is expected to be of economic and technical importance, says the Interior Ministry. Slovakia and Hungary will swap territories of the same area while taking into account water management interventions carried out in the past, mainly on the Ipeľ River. The two countries are set to exchange areas covering more than 177,000 square metres. "This won't involve an exchange of municipalities, nor will it involve an exchange of areas with permanent settlements," added the Interior Ministry.

"Slovakia in the past decades has lost dozens of hectares of land" stated Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák attributing this to the moveable borders. More specifically, Slovakia lost 30 hectares to Hungary on the Hornád River in Eastern Slovakia, while it managed to recover only 18 hectares. When Czechoslovakia split in 1993, Slovakia definitely lost 16 hectares to the Czech Republic in a border area with Austria. According to Minister Kaliňák, Slovakia will soon make similar settlements on making borders immovable with Austria and Poland.