European Parliament Rapporteur Paulo Rangel on Saturday expressed satisfaction with Croatia's readiness to join the European Union's Schengen passport-free travel area.

Rangel, the rapporteur on the application of the Schengen acquis in Croatia, met with Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Interior Minister Davor Božinovic at the end of his official visit to Croatia, a government statement said.

Plenkovic informed Rangel of Croatia’s activities in final preparations for accession to the Schengen area, “for which Croatia is fully prepared,” the statement said.

The Portuguese member of the European Parliament expressed satisfaction with the level of preparation on the part of Croatia, citing his positive impressions after visiting the police station in Cetingrad, the reception centre for asylum seekers in Zagreb, the Police Directorate and the talks he had had at the political level in Croatia.

Rangel and Plenkovic also discussed the pace of preparation of the European Parliament’s opinion for the final decision on Croatia’s accession.

In October 2019, after four years of evaluation, the European Commission concluded that Croatia had taken the necessary steps for Schengen membership.

Before that, on 29 June 2022, the Council of the European Union launched a decision-making process on Croatia’s application, requesting an opinion from the European Parliament, which is necessary for the final decision on accession, the government statement said.

The European Parliament might adopt its opinion already this month, after which Croatia’s application will need the unanimous support of the Council members that already apply the Schengen acquis.