Croatia’s gorgeous and appealing country is about to become even more accessible, as member countries of the European Union (E.U.) agreed on Thursday to admit the Balkan nation into the bloc’s passport-free Schengen zone.
Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013, has only just managed to persuade the European Commission that it is capable of efficiently managing its share of the bloc’s exterior borders.
Croatia shares external borders with Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, both of which are non-Schengen nations, and is also responsible for policing sea access. Recently, the country has stepped up its attempts to show the European Union that it can keep illegal migrants from slipping through it’s borders.
“Croatia is ready,” European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said at a press conference after the bloc’s interior ministers struck an agreement. Croatia was originally recommended for inclusion in the Schengen area by the EU in October of this year.
The Eurozone agreement, a monetary confederation of 19 member nations that have chosen the Euro as their official currency and only legal tender, falls under that umbrella. Croatia is said to be interested in joining the Eurozone in the future.
Then there’s the Schengen zone, which is made up of 26 European countries (not all of which are members of the EU) who have chosen to eliminate border controls and impose а uniform visa policy, making international travel inside the zone as simple as possible.
Many Europeans have been allowed to live and work across international borders thanks to the Schengen Agreement, which allows for unfettered mobility between member nations, though the COVID-19 pandemic has substantially disrupted those rules during the past 21 months.
Croatia’s admission to the Schengen zone means that you may simply incorporate Croatia into your European itinerary, and you won’t have to queue to submit your passport if you’re coming from another Schengen country. While this development is significant in terms of building a more united and integrated Europe, it will not take place immediately. Following Thursday’s decision, It remained unclear when the policy change allowing Croatia to join the Schengen area would take effect.
– India’s new age travel digital media