The European free movement zone expanded on Saturday night, the passport control points in airports being suppressed in nine new countries that joined the Schengen space in 2007, the public radio station informs.
The passport control points on ground and in harbors were shut in 2007, but the airport controls remained in force until all the security measures were implemented. The nine new countries are Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Starting on Sunday, some 400 million Europeans may travel from one country to another without needing a passport, in 24 Schengen Space states. The free movement space counts 22 EU countries, plus Norway and Iceland. The United Kingdom and Ireland chose not to be part of this space. Romania and Bulgaria, EU members since 2007, hope to join the free movement space before 2011.
