'No checks, no queues' - Von der Leyen at Croatia border

STORY: Von der Leyen met Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, as well as members of their respective governments at the Bregana border crossing.

"The next generation of Croatians will grow up in Schengen", von der Leyen said, adding that controls by land and sea have now ceased with neighbors Italy, Hungary and Slovenia.

Passport control for flights between Croatia and other Schengen countries will end from March, she said.

Croatia joins 22 EU nations as well as Lichtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland in Schengen, the world's largest free-travel area seen as one of the main achievements of European integration.