Croatia joins the Schengen area

Croatia will join the Schengen area for free movement in Europe next January, after member states agreed to join it on Thursday.

The Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union wrote on Twitter: “The Council has adopted its decision. It is officially confirmed that Croatia will join the Schengen area from 1 January 2023.”
With this unanimous go-ahead from interior ministers meeting in Brussels, Croatia has become the 27th member of this vast region where more than 400 million people can move freely without restrictions at internal borders.
This country, which has a population of 3.9 million and has been a member of the European Union since 2013, will join the eurozone in early 2023.
Romania and Bulgaria, on the other hand, still have to wait. Austria opposed their candidacy, while the Netherlands opposed Bulgaria.
“Today I will vote against the enlargement of Schengen to include Romania and Bulgaria”, announced Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, upon his arrival in Brussels to meet his European counterparts.
Austria, which is facing a huge increase in asylum applications, fears that the lifting of border controls with these two countries will lead to an increase in migrant arrivals. “This year we have recorded more than 100,000 illegal border crossings in Austria,” the minister said.
The European Commission and Parliament have long been calling for Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria to be included in this vast area which includes the 22 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Such accession would eliminate long lines of vehicles at Croatia’s borders and encourage tourism.
In addition to Austria, another country, the Netherlands, has opposed Bulgaria’s entry into the Schengen area. Eric van der Burg, the Dutch Minister of Immigration, said on Thursday that the country has concerns in this country and asked the Commission for a new report on these points.
“As far as we are concerned, we will vote yes for Croatia and yes for Romania,” he said.