EU Backs Croatia Joining Visa-Free Schengen Area From January

Commuters wait for a train at the central station in Zagreb, Croatia.

Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Croatia won the European Union’s endorsement to join the region’s visa-free travel area while Bulgaria and Romania’s bid was delayed.

EU home affairs ministers agreed at a Thursday meeting in Brussels that Croatia should be allowed to join the so-called Schengen area on Jan. 1. This means the country will no longer be bound by the bloc’s internal border controls, paving the way for easier travel.