EU says Schengen enlargement will happen before the end of the year

The European Union has said it is confident that nine of its newest member states will join the block's Schengen border-free zone by the end of the year. Portuguese Interior Minister Rui Pereira, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said on Tuesday that the Schengen expansion might take place just before Christmas of this year - i.e. two weeks earlier than planned. The border-free Schengen zone now includes 13 EU countries plus Norway and Iceland. The 2004 newcomers are the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Many have said that an end to border checks is essential for their citizens to feel part of the EU.