This primarily concerns their ability to ensure reliable protection of the external border with non-EU countries. In addition, it is necessary to connect new participants to the Schengen police database, although earlier it was planned to wait for the creation of a new, more advanced database.
Among the countries that will join the Schengen area next year are Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia, as well as Switzerland. They will add to the list of 15 countries already in this area. These are Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Greece, Italy, Norway and Iceland. With regard to Cyprus, which also joined the EU in 2004, no such decision has been made yet.
The Agreement on the Abolition of Passport and Customs Controls between a Number of European Union Countries, known as the Schengen Agreement, was initially signed in June 1985 by seven European states (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain) and entered into force in March 1995. Among the 15 countries, the so-called 'old' EU members, the United Kingdom and Ireland remain outside the Schengen Area.
In addition, the ministers approved amendments allowing persons residing in the EU without a specific citizenship, who hold an alien's passport, to travel within Schengen countries without a visa. This decision also applies to Russian-speaking citizens who have residence permits in the Baltic states but were denied local citizenship. The visa-free regime will grant the right to stay in a European Union member state for up to 90 calendar days within a six-month period. The count of stay in the country will begin after the first calendar day of a person's entry into the country.
The changes will enter into force after their final adoption in the usual manner, i.e., on the 20th day after their publication by the European Community Publishing Office.