Kosovo has gained visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen zone, a key step towards greater integration with the European Union (EU) and the world community.
What is the Schengen Area?
- Definition: A zone of 27 European countries where internal boundaries have been removed to allow for free movement of people.
- Membership: 23 of the 27 EU member nations, as well as all EFTA members (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).
- Key features:
- There are no internal border checks, unless in exceptional threat situations.
- Harmonised controls at external borders based on predefined criteria.
About the Eurozone
- A geographic and economic zone made up of European Union countries that have embraced the euro as their national currency.
- As of January 2023, the EU consists of 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
- Key features:
- Coordination of economic policymaking to meet EU economic objectives.
- The euro replaces national currencies.
Joining the Eurozone requires meeting particular requirements:
Including four macroeconomic indicators:
- Pricing Stability: Maintain long-term pricing performance with average inflation no more than 1.5 percent higher than that of the three best-performing member states.
- Public Finances: Keep the budget deficit under 3% of GDP and the public debt under 60% of GDP.
- Convergence durability is measured by long-term interest rates that cannot be more than 2 percent higher than those in the three most price-stable member states.
- Exchange Rate Stability: Show stability by participating in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) II for at least two years without experiencing significant tensions or devaluation versus the euro.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7907