{"id":955,"date":"2022-10-30T18:47:19","date_gmt":"2022-10-30T17:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/europedirect-karlovac.eu\/?p=955"},"modified":"2022-10-30T19:07:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T18:07:43","slug":"schengen-prosirenje-europe-bez-granica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/europedirect-karlovac.eu\/en\/schengen-prosirenje-europe-bez-granica\/","title":{"rendered":"Schengen: enlargement of Europe\u2019s border-free area"},"content":{"rendered":"

Schengen, the EU's passport-free travel area, covers 26 countries. Read on to learn which countries are members and who is likely to join next.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Free movement \u2013 the right to live, study, work and retire anywhere in the EU \u2013 is possibly the most tangible achievement of European integration. With the\u00a0establishment of the Schengen area in 1995,<\/a>checks were abolished at the EU's internal borders.<\/p>\n

Today, the Schengen area encompasses most EU states, except for Ireland, which maintains an opt-out and operates its own common travel area with the UK, as well as Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Romania, which are obliged to join Schengen.
\nFour non-EU countries - Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein - have also joined the Schengen area.<\/p>\n

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Enlargement of Schengen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite Bulgaria and Romania fulfilling the necessary criteria for full membership, the Schengen area has not yet been expanded to these two countries, as EU national governments must unanimously decide to allow new states to enter the border-free zone. In a vote on 18 October 2022,\u00a0MEPs reiterated their call for both countries to be admitted to the Schengen area as soon as possible<\/a>stressing that free movement is at the heart of the EU project.<\/p>\n

Kada je u pitanju Hrvatska, o\u010dekuje se da \u0107e Parlament odobriti njezino pristupanje Schengenu prije kraja 2022., dok je pristupanje Cipra privremeno odgo\u0111eno.<\/p>\n

What are the conditions for joining the Schengen area?<\/em><\/p>\n