The interior ministers of the European Union (EU) approved the accession of Croatia to the Schengen areathe zone of free movement of people, from January 1, 2023.
“Decision adopted. It is now formally confirmed, Croatia will join the Schengen area from January 1, 2023,” tweeted the presidency of the Czech Republic, which holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.
With the decision, Croatia becomes the country number 27 to be part of the Schengen areaand the 23rd in the EU.
This nation _ of 3.9 million inhabitants and a member of the EU since 2013 _ had already received the green light last July to join the euro as the single currency as of January 1.
The Schengen area now consists of: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland.
Romania and Bulgaria were also seeking to join the Schengen zone., but they failed due to the Austrian veto. The two countries joined the EU in 2007 and have applied to be part of the Schengen area for more than a decade.
Austria faces a sharp rise in asylum applications, and therefore fears that the disappearance of immigration controls in those two countries allow an even greater increase in the arrival of migrants.
The Netherlands was also in favor of the accession of Croatia and even of Romania, but not of Bulgaria. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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