The reasons for the different date for air traffic controls are of a technical nature.
At airports in Schengen countries, it is necessary to change the gates for aircraft arriving and departing from Croatia in order to separate passengers and direct them to exits without border controls. The same needs to be done at Croatian airports.
“The date for the lifting of controls at the air borders has to coincide in practice with the dates of IATA summer/winter time schedule, i.e. either the last Sunday of March or the last Sunday of October,” the EU said in its Draft Council Decision on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Croatia, published on its website.
The Council of the EU sent the draft decision to the European Parliament with a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola asking for the Parliament’s opinion as soon as possible.
The draft decision also suggests that all restrictions on the use of the Schengen Information System by Croatia shall be lifted from 1 January 2023.
The opinion of the European Parliament is not binding on the Council but constitutes a procedural step that cannot be avoided.
The decision to launch the procedure was adopted today at a meeting of the Committee of Representatives (Coreper), which consists of the ambassadors of the EU member states.
If no unforeseen obstacles emerge, Croatia would thus become a member of the Schengen Area and the euro area, the two closest organisations that form the core of the entire Union, in the tenth year of its membership in the EU.
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