Croatia to join Schengen next year.

Thanks, Badger - that's interesting. It looks like Austria was the big holdout for Romania and Bulgaria, and the Netherlands for Bulgaria. I wonder why they're so against it.

There might be some political reason. Romania and Bulgaria's potential Schengen membership has been discussed a lot.

Hopefully those who were planning a visit to Croatia to 'pause' their Schengen days see this and are able to (re)plan accordingly.

Hopefully those who were planning a visit to Croatia to 'pause' their Schengen days see this and are able to (re)plan accordingly

Well, this has been discussed for years, a requirement of them joining the EU, and I think sometime last year it was agreed they met all requirements, then announced they would join, originally with a date in 2022, then moved to 2023. This was really more just a final formal vote. Basically, if it takes anyone by surprise, their planning has been lacking.

So, I guess people will have to go just a little further afield for their 'pause' of Schengen. Maybe Bulgaria, Romania to the east or the UK to the west. Hopefully there will be a satisfactory end to the war in Ukraine so that can go back on the list.

I am not enthused. I think the switch to the Euro will be an excuse to jack up prices.

In 2014, we were in Montenegro then on the euro and Croatia on the Kuna. The difference in converted costs to dollars was quite noticeable.

For those needing a pause for Schengen, consider Serbia. We've been twice, and really enjoyed our stays. A room in the Xotel Moskva, in the middle of town, was $159/night/2. Breakfast was great. It is a pleasant train ride from Zagreb. You see many locales which are still showing the civil war evidence. That being said, I don't see a 90 day stay as viable in Serbia.

This was really more just a final formal vote.

No, this wasn't a formality. When it comes to admitting new countries to the Schengen area, it is up to the Council to make the decision.

No, this wasn't a formality. When it comes to admitting new countries to the Schengen area, it is up to the Council to make the decision.

By formality, I mean that the council and Croatia announced over a year ago that Croatia had met all requirements to become part of the Schengen Agreement, and that Croatia was ready to set a date. Membership in Schengen, for Croatia, is a requirement of their membership in the EU (as is conversion to the euro). There was no finger biting or "Maybe, Maybe Not?", the issue was long solved, it would have been amazing that any other outcome would have occurred (I suppose in Hungary's current position of the eternal no vote and spoiler, I suppose it could have). The EU council really does not want EU states being discouraged from joining the Schengen (or adopting the euro) unjustly after making those a hallmark of membership. They would like to eliminate creation of "half-in, half-out" members, and probably wish they could go back a fix a few situations.

Yes, the vote needed to occur, and each member was free to vote as they wished, but the outcome was not in doubt.

Bulgaria and Romania are not in the same place, no one expected they would become Schengen, mainly due to the strong disagreement by Austria, ostensibly as fallout from the wave of Syrian refugees and how that was handled, but likely some much deeper issues.

This must the first time I've encountered an American trying to explain to me how the EU works.

This is wildly off topic, but you are wrong. It was by no means a given outcome as some countries, especially Sweden and the Netherlands have raised objections. But in the end they all voted yes to Croatia.

Badger is correct as far as I am aware - a single member state could have voted against it, so the final vote although anticipated, could have gone the other way.