On Sunday, March 30, passport and customs checks were abolished at the borders of eight countries that recently joined the Schengen zone. As reported by Lenta.ru, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia opened their borders to residents of Schengen area countries.
To ensure that the increased passenger flow after the border opening did not disrupt air traffic, the new member countries expanded existing airports and built new terminals. In addition, in accordance with Schengen area standards, special areas for people with disabilities were set up in all airports.
On March 30, these countries completed the process of integration into the Schengen area. At the first stage, they allowed residents of the Schengen area and holders of Schengen visas to transit through their territory. In December 2007, they effectively opened all their sea and land borders.
Today, the Schengen area includes 22 EU member states and two non-EU countries - Iceland and Norway. Five EU member states are not currently part of the Schengen area: the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Romania. Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, and Switzerland, which is not an EU member, are expected to join the Schengen area by the end of 2008. Bulgaria and Romania, which joined the EU at the beginning of 2007, plan to join the Schengen area by 2011.