That the country is technically ready to abolish borders with states that are part of the Schengen Area was stated by the deputy director of the Swiss Federal Office of Justice, Lucius Madera, as early as the beginning of November 2008.
According to the Swiss government, about 700,000 people, 300,000 private cars and 200,000 trucks cross the country's borders daily. However, as Deutsche Welle reports, even after the simplification of the visa regime, controls on goods and merchandise transported across the Swiss border will remain. This is due to the fact that the country's market is not part of the single European market.
The abolition of passport and visa control at Swiss airports will only come into force on March 28, 2009, when the summer flight schedule takes effect.
Let us recall that until now the Schengen Area included 22 EU states, as well as Norway and Iceland. The United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania, despite being EU members, have not joined the Schengen Agreement.