Brussels, 23/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland will be part of the Schengen area from Sunday 25 March, thereby joining the other ten signatory countries to the Schengen Convention that abolishes border controls for people. By entering the Schengen area as one, the Scandinavians retain the free movement of citizens that has existed between their countries since 1954, within the Nordic Customs Union, including for the non-Community countries. Norway will, however, for the time being retain the stricter controls of goods that it has just introduced to avoid the risk of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. The information and cooperation procedures are already in place and the missions responsible for assessing the effectiveness of controls at the external borders of the Schengen area proved positive. "We have been monitoring the border with Russia since 1917 and all assessment missions of our procedures have concluded that they were in compliance with the modus operandi demanded by the Convention", Pekka Jaervio, responsible for the Schengen issue in the Finnish Ministry of Justice, told AFP. The United Kingdom and Ireland are now the only Member States not part of the Schengen Convention. The British asked to join a little under a year ago, and the Irish have announced their intention of doing so.