Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Monday that from 1 January 2023 border controls will be abolished at a total of 73 border crossing points with Slovenia and Hungary.

“That means that Croatian citizens will no longer have to show documents when crossing the border,” Bozinovic said while presenting amendments to the laws on foreigners and crossing the state border in the parliament, a prerequisites for the application of the Schengen acquis in Croatia.

He specified that there are 15 border crossing points towards Hungary and 58 towards Slovenia.

He also emphasised that member states should remove all obstacles that could hinder the smooth traffic flow at road border crossings at internal borders. This means that Croatia will do the same to enable the smooth flow of people and goods, the minister announced.

Unlike border controls at land and sea borders, which will be abolished with Schengen countries on the first day of 2023, border controls at airports will be lifted on 26 March next year.

The difference in dates is because the winter and summer flight schedules have already been established at the international level, explained Bozinovic.

When the flight schedule changes, current flights to member states will be considered within the Schengen Area, he added.

Bozinovic told lawmakers that by amending the two laws Croatia would end its formal entry into the Schengen Area in the legislative sense.

It was a demanding process in which Croatia fulfilled 281 criteria in four years, he recalled.

He also said that the proposed legal changes relate primarily to border controls and the protection of state borders, underscoring that Croatia has equipped the border crossings with state-of-the-art technical equipment for border control, which Schengen evaluators have confirmed.