No member state likes to open a topic during its six-month rotating EU presidency that it cannot conclude, so Slovenia’s decision will depend on the signals of the member states, which must all support Croatia if it is to join the Schengen Area.
There is no open resistance to Croatia’s entry but there is a big picture that some states would like to resolve before giving the green light.
Thursday’s informal meeting of foreign ministers in Slovenia provided the outline of what can be expected – at stake is a final agreement on a migrant pact proposed by the Commission which should relieve the states of first entry.
The agreement is tied to the functioning of Schengen which, during the previous migrant crisis and now the pandemic, has suspended the flow of people and reinstated border control.
Those in the know assess Croatia’s situation as “cautiously optimistic” and its chances of joining Schengen “very good,” but the main obstacle is the area’s very concept, the newspaper said.
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