Brussels, 11/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - Austrian Minister of the Interior Ernst Strasser pointed out in Vienna that Austria intends to maintain controls on common borders with the future new EU Member States (Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic) after their accession on 1 May 2004, or even until the end of this decade.
During enlargement negotiations, the EU and the ten candidate countries agreed that accession by the new countries of the Schengen Area would take place in two stages. From 1 May 2004, new entrants would implement all the acquis communautaire in justice and home affairs, except for the provisions directly linked to the final lifting of internal border controls. This, diplomats say, will doubtless not be possible before 2007, given the considerable investment that these countries would have to make to set in place all the policies and infrastructures needed to fully ensure the security of their external borders and compliance with the obligations relating to the Schengen Area. A verification process will, moreover, be set in place after enlargement to monitor and assess progress made in this field.
During the last enlargement, in 1995, Austria had also had to wait for three years after its accession, and Finland had even asked for six years so that it could better prepare for complete opening of its borders. Mr Strasser was of the opinion that this transitional three-year period could prove insufficient in the case of the Central and Eastern European countries. All will depend on the effort that these countries make during the next few years, but lifting of the internal border controls toward the end of this decade seems to be a very reasonable timetable, the Austrian minister told journalists. "We want to create a secure European Union. Each step, though, must follow the next: first, membership, then possibly the introduction of the euro and after that the creation of an area of peace and security", Mr Strasser said, according to press reports from Vienna.
Last week, Commissioner Antonio Vitorino, responsible for justice and home affairs, had stressed that a decision on the complete integration of the new member countries would, under no circumstances, be before the end of 2005, the date when the second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II) is expected to be operational.