Croatia Sets Sights On Europe's Border-free Club

:If Croatia gets approval this week to join the world's largest visa-free area, the massive queues of vehicles at the borders with its European neighbours will become history.

Stara Gradiska, Croatia, Dec 6 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Dec, 2022 ) :If Croatia gets approval this week to join the world's largest visa-free area, the massive queues of vehicles at the borders with its European neighbours will become history.

European Union justice ministers meet on Thursday to decide whether to admit Croatia into the passport-free Schengen zone, which enables more than 400 million people to move freely around its 26 member nations.

One of the main sticking points has been questions over Croatia's ability to police what is the 27-nation EU's longest external land border, at a time when migration remains a key challenge for the country.

Zagreb's application in 2016 to join Schengen has also come at a sensitive time for Europe.

Since 2015, millions of migrants, many from conflict zones, have risked their lives to enter the EU illegally and then the Covid 19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Both prompted Schengen countries to reintroduce certain border controls.

If on Thursday Croatia gets the green light to join Schengen -- potentially alongside Bulgaria and Romania -- the kilometres-long (miles-long) vehicle queues at the Bregana border crossing with Slovenia will become a thing of the past.

Bregana is one of 73 land crossings with EU neighbours Slovenia and Hungary that would cease to exist.

"On January 1, we will raise the barriers and border traffic will be free," the head of the national border police service, Zoran Niceno, told AFP.

At airports, the change will kick in on March 26, due to technical issues.