Czech diplomat slams EC for Schengen delay

Jan Kohout, the Czech Republic's ambasador to the EU, accused the European Commission on Tuesday of deceiving the bloc's 10 new member states over the timing of their entry into the EU's Schengen border free zone. The Commission said earlier this month that the 10 new states' entry into the Schengen area, originally scheduled for October 2007, would be delayed by at least a year. Mr. Kohout rejected the Commission's argument that the delay was due to technical difficulties in setting up a new police data base, saying opening borders was a political issue and the delay reflected "the political views in some member states." The Czech diplomat said the EU must keep the October 2007 date or risk losing public confidence among people in the new EU states.