The EU-27 have agreed Thursday on the entry of Croatia as a new member of the Schengen border-free area but leave out Romania and Bulgaria, whose entry has been defended by the European Commission for a decade, because of the veto of Austria and the Netherlands to these two countries, diplomatic sources have informed Europa Press.
The entry of Romania and Bulgaria has clashed with the vote against Austria and the Netherlands, although the latter had been open to allow the entry of Romania. The decision covered the two countries without the possibility of splitting the vote, so the Dutch veto on Bulgaria also affected Romania.
Croatia, whose entry was decided in a separate vote, will thus become in January 2023 the 27th member of the free movement area of which most EU countries plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are members.
