EU Affairs
Malta to join Schengen on December 21
By MaltaMedia News
Nov 9, 2007 - 9:23:24 AM

European Union interior ministers approved Thursday the entry of Malta and eight other recently acceded members of the EU into Europe's passport-free Schengen area on December 21.

AFP reports the ministers meeting in Brussels saying "The member states concerned are sufficiently prepared."

The move is expected to free up travel and give a boost to economic activity to the countries joined the EU in 2004.

Sea and land border controls between the current 15 Schengen area nations and the nine -- Malta plus eight Central and East European countries -- will end after midnight on December 20. Air travel however is to be opened up from March 30.

The European Parliament must also give its opinion on the entry of the nine -- the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia -- but this is considered a formality.

At the moment the Schengen treaty, which abolished border checks between its members, counts all the oldest EU members except Britain and Ireland, plus non-EU nations Norway and Iceland.

The decision to expand it was taken following a detailed assessment carried out over two years, AFP explained.

The first of the two conditions needed for joining was met by the nine in early September when the countries plugged into an electronic database that allows authorities to swap details on wanted people, objects or vehicles.

For the second condition, concerning the security of their borders with non-EU countries, experts have over the last year inspected the controls and described them as "satisfying".

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Switzerland, are expected to fully join the border-free zone in coming years.