Schengen zone grows to 24
Friday, 21 Dec 2007 06:55
Travellers can now visit nine more countries after obtaining a Schengen visa
Nine more
European countries have joined the Schengen agreement which now enables passport-free travel between 24 countries.
A Schengen visa enables non-EU citizens to visit all states part of the accord after being granted permission to travel by any country.
Leaders from across Europe are taking part in symbolic ceremonies at their borders today to signify the lifting of travel restrictions between their neighbours.
Ceremonies have already taken place in Hungary, Germany, Poland and Slovenia to mark the process of making movement between borders easier.
After sawing through a barrier on Slovakia's border with Austria, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said: "From midnight tonight you can travel 4,000km from Tallinn in Estonia to Lisbon in Portugal without any border controls."
Travellers can now visit 24 countries on obtaining a Schengen visa after today's signing of the accord by the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Previously the agreement applied to travel between 15 states: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Commentators have said that while many people are enthusiastic about how the agreement will make travel between states easier, they are wary of increasing illegal immigration due to the lifting of internal controls on entry to states.
The European Union has said that €1 billion (£720 million) has already been spent on improving border security between signatories to the agreement. A database, the Schengen Information Service (SIS) is also present which contains details of all those granted the travel permit.