Budapest, Jul 3 (IANS): Hungary will not allow citizens from non-European Union (EU) countries, except for Serbia, to enter the country in wake of an EU recommendation, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

Orban on Thursday spoke in a video message posted on his Facebook page, after the Council of the European Union (EU) adopted a recommendation to lift entry restrictions for residents of some third countries starting Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The council recommended the lifting of travel restrictions for residents of Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay.

The council also recommended that residents of China be allowed to travel to the EU, subject to confirmation of reciprocity. While highly anticipated, the council's recommendations are not legally binding, since border control is still its member states' competency.

The prime minister also said that his government decided to restore the use of the mandatory corridor for transiting traffic across Hungary.

"Travellers passing through the country, just as during the peak period of the coronavirus epidemic, cannot leave the designated route and border controls will remain strict," he said.