MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2022) The government of Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union but is part of the Schengen area, has approved Croatia's entry into the free-movement zone on Wednesday.
"Croatia will enter the Schengen area from January 1, 2023. The decision was made by the Council of the European Union on December 8, 2022. The Federal Council approved the decision at the meeting on December 21," the Swiss government said in a statement.
It is noted that checks of persons on internal land and sea borders between Croatia and the other countries in the Schengen area will be lifted from January 1, 2023. Checks at airports will be canceled from March 26, 2023, when civil aviation switches to the summer schedule. Croatia will be able to issue Schengen visas from the beginning of 2023.
Currently, the Schengen visa-free area includes 26 countries, all EU member states except Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania, as well as non-EU members: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In 2018, the European Parliament noted that Croatia should join the Schengen area as soon as it meets the necessary criteria. On December 8, the EU interior ministers agreed on the accession of Croatia to the Schengen area, but postponed decisions on Bulgaria and Romania due to objections from Austria, which accused the two countries of making weak efforts to fight illegal migration.
