(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 22 OTT - EU Commissioner for Migration,
Dimitris Avramopoulos, replied today on Slovenia's opposition to
Croatia's entry into Schengen. "The open dispute on the internal
border between Croatia and Slovenia is a bilateral issue that
does not interfere with the Schengen rules", he said.
During the last few weeks, a number of Slovenian MEPs,
supported by Prime Minister Marjan Sarec, have sent an open
letter to EU leaders to oppose the accession of Zagreb to the
area of free movement. "We received the letter, I understand
that there are some concerns and we had different ideas even
among us commissioners, but our assessment today is very very
clear and based on a four-year verification process",
Avramopulos explained. "Schengen membership criteria are equal
for all the Member States", he added. Once in Schengen, Croatia
will have "rights but also obligations and will have to continue
working on better management of the European external borders,"
the Commissioner pointed out. (ANSA).
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