Integration for new EU members in Schengen area delayed

Brussels has hinted new EU member states could see a delay of at least six months in joining the Schengen open-border zone due to technical difficulties.

The enlargement of the 15-state Schengen area will enable citizens from eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe plus Cyprus and Malta to travel to Western Europe without any border controls.

EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini admitted on Monday that the EU is late with the finalization of the central database necessary for the enlargement of the open-border zone.

Frattini said the so-called SIS II system, a sophisticated computer network designed to store various data on people or stolen cars may only be operational in November 2007, although the EU's initial plan was to have it up-and-running next March.

He pointed out that the original deadline could still be achieved "if we join forces and speed up our work on the database."

"Our goal remains expanding Schengen by the end of the next year," Frattini noted, while pointing out that if delays occur the new member states could at least be allowed to lift land border controls earlier than controls at airports.

Frattini also said he hoped to get EU government backing to open negotiations in 2007 on easing travel restrictions for residents of four Balkan countries, offering them quicker and cheaper visas.

If implementation of the security system is delayed, passport checking at airports in new member countries might not disappear until March or October 2008, as the system can only be introduced at the same time as the seasonal changes of air timetables.

The Schengen zone was established through a 1985 agreement signed by France, Germany and the Benelux countries and was enforced ten years later, in 1995.

The border-free area currently comprises 13 "old" member states (excluding the UK and Ireland), plus two non-EU states -- Norway and Iceland.