Status: 08.12.2022 2:59 p.m
Croatia can join the Schengen area without passport controls on January 1st. The responsible ministers of the 26 Schengen countries agreed on this. Bulgaria and Romania, on the other hand, remain outside.
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, as the Czech Council Presidency announced.
The controls at the land borders of the popular holiday destination are to be abolished at the beginning of next year. However, there was no majority for the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area.
All three countries are already partially bound by the Schengen rules, but there are still controls at their borders. So far, 22 of the 27 EU countries as well as the non-EU countries Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein belong to the Schengen area.