Due to the end of holidays and Croatia’s accession to the Schengen area, huge traffic jams have accumulated at border crossings with neighboring countries. A huge disappointment for many who thought it was the end.
“Sixteen hours of waiting, a catastrophe with no water and no food,” complains a Croatian driver. “How can Croatia reach Europe this way?”
Ivan Ribicic, director of a toll booth near Zagreb, explains the rush this way: “Joining Schengen coincided with the end of the holidays. Both those celebrating Catholic Christmas and those celebrating Orthodox Christmas are making a comeback. explains why it’s so crowded at the borders”.
The Croatian Auto Club (HAK) warned of heavy traffic on Sunday. On the A3 highway Bregana (with Slovenia) -Lipovac (with Serbia) and at the Zagreb-East tollbooth in the direction of Bregana (with Slovenia), as well as at some border crossings with Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the way for Croatia, the waiting time can be several hours.
Croatia became the 27th EU country to join the Schengen area at the turn of the year. There are no border controls with Slovenia and Hungary and at the maritime border with Italy.
The country of 4 million people expects free travel to result in a significant increase in tourists, particularly from Italy.