The Croatian Government will hope that the process of joining the Schengen will be quicker than the length of time it took them to join the EU. Croatia applied for EU membership in and the decision was granted in the following year by the European Council. However, border and immigration issues were a complication and slowed the process. Slovenia subsequently accepted the ruling of United Nations arbitrators which resolved the issue. Negotiations between the EU and Croatia continued until when the Treaty of Accession was signed.
Croatia eventually became a part of the EU on 1 July , ten years after the initial application. However, it has now been confirmed that the country has passed its evaluation process and is set to join the open borders region in the near future. European authorities have not yet given a specific date for Croatia to officially become part of the Schengen zone. It has been reported that Croatia will become a Schengen country before the end of It is also unclear whether Croatia will be part of the ETIAS visa waiver programme , which will be launched by the end of However, it is likely the country will require an European Travel Information and Authorization System from third-country travellers once the permit is in place.
The newly reached stance by the EU Commission results from the evaluations conducted between June and May Croatia would be the 27th member of the Schengen zone. It would be the first country to join since Lichtenstein joined the zone in The Schengen Area currently comprises 26 countries. Once Croatia becomes part of the region visitors arriving from other member states will be able to enter without border checks.
It will make the nation easier to visit and therefore an even more attractive holiday destination. Preparations for future Schengen membership are ongoing including a continued emphasis on border security and migration issues. Visitors from visa-exempt third countries will need to apply for ETIAS to visit Croatia if it does gain full membership as expected. ETIAS is an electronic travel authorisation. Travellers will fill out a simple form with their personal and passport details and pay a processing fee.
The Croatian government was tasked with meeting recommendations set by the European Union in order to gain acceptance to the Schengen Area. This is the highest number of recommendations ever imposed on a single country wishing to join the Schengen Area but Croatia had succeeded in completing this mammoth task by mid Once Croatia is admitted into the Schengen Area, it will be be able to implement ETIAS for travellers entering the country for tourism or business purposes.
ETIAS will be launched in and will be madatory from onwards. If Croatia is not admitted into the Schengen Area, then existing immigration and visa rules will apply to travellers entering the country. In July , after a prolonged and lengthy evaluation period of four years, Croatia finally received confirmation albeit unofficial that all technical requirements and recommendations had been met.
This cleared the way for the country's formal acceptance into the Schengen Area, and its accompanying benefits, but further obstacles remained. Although accepted by the EU authorities there were objections raised to Croatia's admittance to the Schengen Area by the governments of Austria, Slovenia and Hungary. Austria and Hungary threatened to veto Croatia's admittance due to the ongoing influx of illegal migrants entering their countries via Croatia while Slovenia cited an ongoing border dispute as grounds for refusal.
However, following a series of bilateral discussions between representatives of Croatia and the three veto-threatening countries these issues appear to have been resolved satisfactorily.
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