Border controls will be eliminated – Croatia will join the Schengen area in 2023 – News

  • The way for Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area without border controls is clear.
  • The responsible ministers of the 26 Schengen countries agreed on this at a meeting in Brussels.
  • The controls at the land borders of the popular holiday destination are to be abolished at the beginning of next year.
  • Croatia will also introduce the euro as a means of payment at the beginning of 2023.

On the way to Croatia, tourists often stand in traffic jams for hours. That should change soon. Because as early as next year, the Adrialand will join the Schengen area – and the passport controls at the national borders with other Schengen countries will no longer apply. From spring 2023 there will also be no more controls at the airports.

Accessions of Romania and Bulgaria blocked

Romania and Bulgaria suffered a great disappointment. Austria in particular blocked their admission to the Schengen area. The current Czech Council Presidency tried to reach a decision for all three countries with several compromise proposals – but ultimately without success.

Brief assessment of the SRF correspondent


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Unlike Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania will not be part of the Schengen area for the time being. The recommendation of the European Commission was of no use either. A few member states, above all Austria, have blocked the enlargement to Romania and Bulgaria. There has been a lot of talk in recent months that the war in Ukraine has brought the countries of the European Union closer together. But this is not evident when it comes to the long-running issue of migration: Here, decisions are as difficult as ever.

Andreas Reich, Brussels

The Schengen area currently includes 22 EU countries as well as Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland. There are usually no stationary border controls at the internal borders between these countries. This makes it the world’s largest area of ​​freedom to travel.

New members can only be admitted unanimously. Romania and Bulgaria have been waiting for the decision since 2011. Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner had already announced before the meeting: “I will vote against the Schengen expansion to include Romania and Bulgaria.” It is wrong to enlarge a system that does not work.

The conservative politician was alluding to the fact that, from Vienna’s point of view, too many migrants come to Austria, although the countries on the EU’s external borders are actually responsible for them. According to him, there were more than “100,000 illegal border crossings” to Austria this year, of which 75,000 were not registered.

In fact, unwanted migration to the EU has recently increased significantly. Between January and October, the border protection agency Frontex counted 281,000 irregular border crossings, an increase of 77 percent compared to the same period last year. At least with regard to Romania, the numbers of those who were registered there and who traveled to Austria without permission between January and October 2022 were very low.

Resistance from Austria and the Netherlands

The Netherlands also showed resistance to the lifting of controls on Bulgaria. On the other hand, Germany, like the EU Commission, advocated fully including both Bulgaria and Romania in addition to Croatia in the Schengen area. The three countries are already partially bound by the Schengen rules, but internal border controls have so far been maintained.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she could not understand Austria’s position. “It was agreed that we would look: has progress been made? They have clearly been achieved.” The EU Commission had also certified this progress for the three countries. “The candidate countries have done what they had to do and they are ready to ensure the protection of our external borders,” said Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas. “It’s unfair not to give them the chance they deserve.”

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