Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Thursday he was pleased that all EU member states unanimously confirmed that Croatia had fulfilled all the requirements from the Schengen Area acquis, which paves the way for lifting internal border controls.

“We are very pleased and happy about today’s decision because we have put in a lot of work in the past few years, both when it comes to the protection of Croatia’s external borders and to the application of all legal documents and everything that is part of the Schengen acquis,” Bozinovic told the press after a meeting of EU interior ministers, who unanimously approved conclusions on Croatia’s readiness to join Schengen.

The approval of the conclusions represents the green light for preparing a decision on Croatia’s accession to Schengen. The decision also requires the opinion of the European Parliament, which has an advisory capacity in the matter.

Bozinovic said he discussed the matter on Wednesday with Juan Fernando López Aguilar, chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, who is competent for this issue.

Croatia expects the final decision on its accession to Schengen to be adopted in the first half of 2022, during France’s presidency of the Council of the EU.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday presented the priorities of the French presidency, one being to reform and strengthen Schengen, which would include Croatia’s accession.