EU: European Parliament approves Croatia's admission to Schengen Zone

The European Parliament has approved Croatia’s admission into the bloc’s Schengen Zone. Following the approval, the decision would be left to the European Union’s government leaders.

The European Parliament Thursday approved Croatia’s admission into the passport-free Schengen Zone, lifting the remaining border controls between Croatia and the Schengen area. The vote in favor of the measure was 534 to 53. The final decision would be made by the European Council, made up of the bloc’s 27 leaders, which already indicated back in December last year that Croatia met all the criteria to apply for access to the Schengen area.

“Croatia’s place is in Schengen. Criteria have been met. The European Parliament has given its green light. Now the EU Council must deliver,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in a tweet following the vote.

The Schengen Area is the largest passport-free zone in the world, which allows for the unrestricted movement of people between 26 countries in Europe.

Back in July, EU finance ministers gave Croatia the final approval to adopt the Euro currency starting January 1, 2023, instead of the Croatian kuna currency. This marks the first expansion of the currency bloc in nearly eight years.

Earlier this week, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak both agreed to work together to resolve issues related to the post-Brexit trade deal in Northern Ireland, according to Sunak’s office. Von der Leyen and Sunak met during the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

The meeting comes as the United Kingdom issued a new appeal to the EU to end a delay in granting access to the bloc’s scientific research as part of the post-Brexit trade deal. While Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, it is part of the EU’s trade bloc.

“The prime minister reiterated the need to find solutions to the very real problems it had created on the ground in Northern Ireland. They agreed on the importance of working together to agree to a resolution,” said a spokesperson for Downing Street.

Von der Leyen said it was a “good first meeting” with Sunak.