Croatia joins Europe's free-travel zone, Romania and Bulgaria barred

FILE PHOTO: Cars queue at the Slovenia-Croatia border in Dragonja, Slovenia May 15, 2020 REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

BRUSSELS/BREGANA BORDER CROSSING BETWEEN CROATIA AND SLOVENIA (Reuters) - Croatia got the green light on Thursday to join Europe's open travel zone, but Bulgaria and Romania were kept out because of opposition led by Austria over concerns about unauthorised immigration.

From 2023, people will not have to stop for border checks as they pass between Croatia and the rest of the so-called Schengen area - the world's largest free-travel area seen as one of the main achievements of European integration.