Croatia enters the Schengen zone

The border-free Schengen Area will soon include Croatia, while Romania and Bulgaria will not be joining the travel zone for now.

European Union member states have voted on whether or not to let the three nations into the Schengen zone, a group of countries that have agreed to eliminate border passport controls. The 26 countries that makeup Schengen all voted in favour of Croatia.

But Austria prevented the other two from joining, saying they were not yet ready. The Netherlands voted in favour of Romania's proposal but against Bulgaria's.

Earlier in the week, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer declared that its country needed “more time", as there are now 75,000 undocumented illegal migrants living in Austria, all of whom have entered the country through a non-EU border. The Netherlands has blocked Bulgaria's accession application due to what it considers unmet rule-of-law issues and awaiting pieces of legislation to fight corruption and criminal organizations.

The temporary administration in Bulgaria has been disputing these assertions and claiming that the opposition has nothing to do with the Schengen requirements. As the meeting concluded, Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev stated that "two member states expressed reservations but they don't have any particular concerns with relations to Schengen." He added that his country was prepared to take the required measures to convince its reluctant partners.

To summarize Austria's reasoning, Bulgaria is not responsible for Austria's internal difficulties yet the Schengen Area needs to operate at its best before expanding it to include Bulgaria and Romania.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said the Commission will maintain a positive stance and work to have the accession happen before the conclusion of her term in office. For Johansson, the European Union is at its strongest and most effective when all its members work together.

"When it comes to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria, we are not united and that makes us very weak and that makes me also sad", Johansson declared.

On the other hand, starting in January of 2023, Croatia will join the ranks of countries adopting the euro. The nation now joins the other 19 members of the bloc that utilise the currency. Croatia also plans to end border restrictions with other Schengen nations as of January 1, 2023.

The eastern European country hopes this would improve the lives of its residents by providing them with more stable incomes. Soaring inflation should be slowed, which is good news for travellers since it means costs will likely be less volatile.

Right now, the Schengen Area includes 26 nations and about 420 million people, including 22 European Union members.

 

Source: euronews.com