Polish observers note that enough time has passed since ten new members joined the European Union in May 2004 to take another step towards establishing equality among all EU countries. Autumn 2007 is the long-planned deadline, and there is no reason to postpone it.
A more moderate position is held by the newly appointed head of the Czech Foreign Ministry, Alexandr Vondra: 'We will move forward in such a way that the responsibility for any changes in deadlines does not fall on our countries.' The problem of re-equipping checkpoints is not only a concern of the 'four' countries but also of other new EU members. The ministers confirmed that they are ready to adhere to all commitments made to other EU countries and bring their checkpoints into line with the requirements of the rest of the EU.
When asked whether measures related to the specific situation on the CIS borders (after all, it is from Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, as well as Russia and Asian countries that thousands of migrant workers head to the EU) were discussed in Bratislava, the official representative of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Viktor Polgar, said that these issues were not considered in the Slovak capital. 'We spoke mainly about the need for comprehensive improvement of the entire border control system at EU borders in accordance with the unified requirements of the European Union and about our contribution to solving this task,' our interlocutor explained.
The Schengen Agreement on the free movement of citizens was signed by France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg in 1985. In practice, these agreements came into effect in the mid-1990s. Currently, the Schengen zone includes 13 EU states. However, the United Kingdom and Ireland, as long-standing members of the community, are not members of Schengen, while non-EU members Norway and Iceland are part of the Schengen system.
The Czech Foreign Ministry believes that the delay in the country's entry into the Schengen zone may be an indirect reason for maintaining the current 'asymmetry' between Prague and Washington. Currently, Americans can freely cross the borders of the Czech Republic, while Czechs need visas to enter the United States. In the Czech Republic, it is acknowledged that the Schengen rules are a certain additional barrier for the United States against potential terrorists entering America through Europe.