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Schengen Zone
- Context (TH): Kosovo recently obtained visa-free access to the Schengen zone in Europe.
Kosovo
- It is a self-declared independent country in the Balkans region of Europe.
- It is a landlocked country also, it is the smallest country in the Balkans.
- Kosovo is a member of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
- Kosovo lacks legal statehood, according to the UN, and is denied recognition by Russia and China.
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Schengen Zone
- The Schengen zone is named after the Luxembourg village, where the agreement was signed in 1985.
- It is an area encompassing countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. It is the world’s largest free movement area.
- It mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes.
- Of the 27 EU member states, 23 participate in the Schengen Area.
- EU states not part of the Schengen Area: Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, and Ireland
- Non-EU states part of the Schengen Area: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Norway.
- Croatia, an EU member since 2013, joined Schengen in 2023.
- Romania and Bulgaria, EU members since 2007, will have partial Schengen entry in March.
- Importance:
- People from any country enjoy the advantage of travelling freely across multiple European nations using a single Schengen visa.
- EU member states see visa-free borderless travel, coupled with the unified currency adopted by 20 EU countries, as a prominent symbol of European integration.
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