French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday expressed his support for Croatia's intention to become a full-fledged member of the Schengen Area and the eurozone
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2021) French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday expressed his support for Croatia's intention to become a full-fledged member of the Schengen Area and the eurozone.
Macron is currently on his first official visit to Zagreb since the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatia's subsequent independence in the mid-1990s. Earlier in the day, the countries signed an agreement for 12 Rafale fighters from France to Croatia at a cost of almost 1 billion Euros ($1.1 billion).
"I support Croatia's ambition to enter the Schengen Area," Macron told a joint press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.
The French leader added that he also backs Croatia's intention to join the eurozone, a financial alliance of 19 EU member states with the euro as their common Currency. Croatia began the process to become the 20th member of the union in 2017. Preparations are underway and the country is likely to gain membership as early as January 1, 2023, according to the European Commission.
The 26-member Schengen Area is a free travel zone covering 22 of 27 EU countries, excluding Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Cyprus, and Ireland. Four non-EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, are also part of the area.
