Vehicle wait in queues in Obrezje, one of the main border crossings connecting capitals of Slovenia and Croatia, in Slovenia, on April 7, 2017. Travellers witnessed extended queues at the border controls between Slovenia and Croatia on Friday, the first day that stricter border checks on the outer border of the Schengen area is introduced. (Xinhu/Matic Stojs)
LJUBLJANA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Travellers witnessed extended queues at the border controls between Slovenia and Croatia on Friday, the first day that stricter border checks on the outer border of the Schengen area is introduced.
On Obrezje, one of the main border crossings connecting both capitals, travellers in personal vehicles are waiting around 2.5 hours for exit from Slovenia and half an hour for entry, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).
Waiting times are extended at all other major border crossings as well. For busses and cargo vehicles the delays are even longer, said the STA.
From Friday morning, police on the border between Slovenia and Croatia are checking the documents of all travelers and comparing them to data in police databases.
Until now only the documents of citizens of non-EU countries have been extensively checked.
The enforcement of stricter border checks on the outer borders of the Schengen zone is dictated by a new EU directive, adopted in response to attacks across Europe in the past two years.
