The Prime Minister of Croatia, Andrej Plenkovic, has said that Croatia expects to overcome the last formal obstacles on its way in order to become part of the European Union’s borderless area of Schengen.
The Prime Minister said that the Balkan country expects to become part of the Schengen Zone on January 1, 2023, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
Plenkovic has stressed that Croatia has met all the needed requirements in order to become part of the Schengen zone while adding that the country is ready to provide further clarification on this to all who want it so the country can join Schengen on January 1, 2023.
Croatia’s PM also added that a committee of the European Parliament is expected to give a positive opinion in this regard, in the coming weeks, after assessing the country’s readiness for criteria such as protecting Croatia’s border as well as managing the migration situation while he said that a final decision in this regard rests with the European Union Justice and Home Affairs Council.
The Prime Minister of Croatia also expressed his support to two other European Union Member countries, Bulgaria and Romania, on their way to becoming part of the Schengen Zone.
Previously, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said he supports Schengen Membership for the three Balkan countries; Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia.
The German Chancellor also said that the three countries met all the needed requirements to become full members of the Schengen area.
His comments came during his visit to Prague while adding that the Schengen Zone is among the biggest achievements of the European Union, which according to him, must be protected and further developed.
“Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria fulfill all the technical requirements for full membership. I will work to see them become full members,” the statement of Scholz noted.
However, in August, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Croatia should not be allowed to join the Schengen Zone while calling on the EU authorities not to admit Croatia to the borderless area of Schengen.
HRW comments came over Croatia’s treatment of migrants, following a report published on November 8, while the non-governmental organization threw accusations against the European Commission for saying that Croatia is ready to join Schengen.
“Croatia’s unlawful and violent summary returns of asylum seekers and migrants should disqualify it from joining the Schengen Area,” Lydia Gall, senior Eastern Europe and Balkans researcher at HRW, stressed, adding that the Commission’s actions “sends the message that serious human rights abuses are no obstacle to Schengen accession,” according to a report provided by Radio Free Europe.
Source SchengenVisaInfo.com
