Slovenia Celebrates 15 Years as a Schengen Member
The government of Slovenia has considered such a step a very important development in Slovenia, after its path to other European Union countries and the Schengen Zone has finally opened up.
“By entering the Schengen Area, Slovenia took on an extremely responsible task – to safeguard the common external border in accordance with the Schengen standards, thus ensuring the safety of all EU member states, as the Slovenian-Croatian border became the new external Schengen border,” the statement provided by the country’s government reads.
In addition, the government of Slovenia noted that the 15th anniversary of this country is also marked by an important decision taken by the Justice and Home Affairs Council on including Croatia in the Schengen Zone as of January 1, 2023. The government has confirmed that the decision would result in new changes for crossing the border between both countries.
It has been emphasized that all passengers meeting the needed conditions will be eligible to cross the border between these two territories anywhere.
The Government of Slovenia has confirmed that the country has been preparing for its neighbouring country’s entry into the EU’s borderless area for quite some time already, stressing that this accounts for tactical and strategic preparations, which will ensure the safety in Slovenia despite the lifting of Schengen border controls.
In addition, it was reported that the police adopted a new strategy in order to implement compensatory measures at the internal border with neighbouring countries and also the implementation of the European Union law at internal borders.
According to the statement, among others, officers in Slovenia will also carry out additional measures in the form of compensatory measures and will continue to remain in the border area.
Authorities in Slovenia have announced that they are continuously monitoring the situation in the Western Balkans, which, according to the government, directly impacts the situation at the Slovenian border.
It has also been clarified that all the current measures by the Police will continue, even after Croatia’s joining the Schengen zone, in order to ensure safety and also prevent illegal migrations, taking also into account measures permitted by the Schengen zone.
