Croatia to join Europe’s ID-check-free area, others to wait

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries agreed Thursday to allow Croatia to fully open its borders and participate in Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone, but Bulgaria and Romania were told that they must wait longer to be allowed in.

This triggered an angry response from Romania, which lashed out at Austria for blocking its bid to join the so-called Schengen area.

The world's largest free travel zone, the Schengen area comprises 26 countries — 22 EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Almost 1.7 million people live in one Schengen country and work in another. Around 3.5 million people cross an internal border each day.

Austria, in particular, had objected to Bulgaria and Romania joining, citing migration concerns.

“When it comes to the accession of Romania and Bulgaria we are not united and that makes us very weak and that makes me also sad,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told reporters after the decision, taken during a meeting of interior ministers in Brussels, was announced.

“You deserve to be full members of Schengen, you deserve to have access to the free movement in the Schengen area,” Johansson said, adding that the two had strong support from almost all the ministers present.

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs late Thursday said it had summoned Austria’s ambassador over Vienna’s “unjustified and unfriendly attitude.”

“The (foreign ministry) considers that this result is completely unfair and devoid of any objective motivation,” it said in a statement, adding that it regrets the impact “Austria’s negative vote today has on European unity and cohesion.”

“Especially in the current complicated geostrategic context … and Russia’s persistent attempts to fracture European...