Croatia joins Europe’s Schengen Area: What is it and how does it work?

Croatia has joined the Schengen Area, the world’s biggest visa-free area.

The European country, which is home to about 4 million people, is the 27th nation to join the project.

It means border controls, including passport checks, have been removed for people travelling between Croatia and the other 26 countries in the Schengen Area.

The Schengen Area is an area of Europe with no internal border controls, the European Council explains. It spans more than 4 million square kilometres and has a population of about 420 million people.

Countries in the Schengen Area have agreed to abolish controls at their shared borders, allowing people to travel freely between member countries.

About 3.5 million people a day cross internal Schengen borders to work, study or visit family and friends, while around 1.7 million people stay in one Schengen country but work in another.

Non-European Union (EU) nationals living in or visiting the EU can also travel check-free through the zone.

But they can only stay in the Schengen Area for 90 days in every 180 without a visa.

The area is named after a small village in Luxembourg. This is where five EU countries – France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – signed an agreement in 1985 to create the Schengen Area as an intergovernmental project.

Gradually, it has grown to become the largest free travel zone in the world, the European Council says.

Schengen Area member countries include 23 of the EU’s 27 member countries.

These are Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are also Schengen Area members even though they aren’t in the EU, as they are part of the European Free Trade Association.

EU countries not in the Schengen Area are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Ireland.

The freedom of movement Schengen allows means every EU citizen can travel, work and live in an EU country without special formalities, the European Commission explains.

The Schengen Area also brings “significant economic benefits” to all citizens and businesses in its member states.

Since it was set up, trade between European countries has increased over time, helping to grow European businesses.

Croatia believes joining the Schengen Area will eliminate congestion at the borders for tourists and improve the flow of visitors in the region.

The European Council says the Schengen Area has also improved security in the EU, by increasing cooperation between the police forces, customs authorities and external border control authorities of its member states.

This is an “enormous advantage” in combating terrorism and serious and organized crime, including human trafficking and illegal migration.

The Schengen Area is the “bedrock” of the European single market and its creation is one of the European Union’s main achievements, the European Council says.