Driving from Hungary to Austria has become a little more difficult as a key border point now requires a permit – a change which local Austrian officials say is necessary to limit the number of vehicles coming in.

However, it has created tension between the two EU members, and there are accusations that it breaks the bloc's rules on free movement.

‌Since March, Hungarian mechanic Jozef Kalmar's commute to his job in Austria has been challenging. Kalmar works in the Austrian town of Schattendorf but Vienna closed the border between the two countries and began installing electronic barriers. So the Hungarian has been using two vehicles to get to work – one on the Hungarian side and another on the Austrian side.

‌"Closing this border in Schattendorf is not a good idea, I use it daily. If I were to drive to the nearest [open] border crossing, it would add an extra hour to my commute," Kalmar‌ told CGTN.

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The barriers have been installed and the crossing has reopened but Hungarian drivers need to apply for a permit to use it, at a cost of $173. And there is no guarantee their application will be approved.

‌The mayor of Schattendorf says the changes were needed to limit traffic congestion and make the town's roads safer. CGTN asked him to comment but he declined. 

"This is not the first time I feel Hungarians are discriminated against," said Zsuzsanna Pek, the Mayor of Agfalva, a village in Hungary which is only a couple of kilometers from the border of Austria.

‌‌Mayor Pek says restricting the free flow of people between borders could be in conflict with EU rules. Both Austria and Hungary are members of the Schengen zone, which allows for the removal of border controls between member states.

‌"According to the Mayor of Schattendorf, this plan will serve as a model for other Austrian towns that border Hungary," said Pek.

‌Hungarians residing in the border region will need to fill out an application form to obtain the permit from the Schattendorf government - it asks for the name and address of the applicant, a photo ID, a driver's license, and the reason for entering Austria. Once completed, the form will be submitted to the Austrian municipality, which will decide who gets the permit.

However, residents on either side of the border do not like the plan and say that a better solution would be to build more roads or have reliable public transportation in the area.

‌"The fairest solution would be to make proper public transport so that we do not need to have so much individual traffic," said Schattedorf resident Alice Schmitzhofer.

‌"It's unfair towards the Hungarian people on the other side of the border that they cannot commute where they want to commute even though there should be free and open borders," said Reka Szabo, a Hungarian worker in Austria. 

‌Some Hungarian commuters who use this border to go to work in Austria say they plan to apply for the permit, while others will continue to use two vehicles to avoid the fee.

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