Nine new countries ready to join Schengen zone

Nine new EU countries are ready to join the Schengen zone of free travel on 21st December, according to the Prague Declaration, a document adopted by interior ministers and other representatives of EU countries who met in Prague on Friday. The declaration says that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are well prepared for abolishing border checks on their frontiers with other Schengen zone members, and enter the free-travel area on 21st December this year. This conclusion was also confirmed by a report by an evaluation committee overseeing the introduction of an information system that was published in Brussels on Friday. Some old Schnegen zone members, such as Austria, are however considering policing their borders with the acceding countries even after this date.