Visegrad states want no delays in joining Schengen zone

Four EU newcomers - the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia - said on Tuesday that they wanted to enter the block's borderless zone according to an agreed schedule next year, despite calls from Brussels to postpone the move. Czech Foreign Minister Alexander Vondra said that all four member states had agreed to work together to try and maintain the original date - October 2008 - or at least to negotiate in a way as to ensure that blame for any delay does not fall on the four countries. EU diplomats have called for a postponement because of delays in building a new police database. The four EU newcomers meet for regular sessions within the Visegrad Group alliance to debate regional issues and EU related matters.