Brussels, 05/11/2007 (Agence Europe) - The countries which joined the EU in 2004 will finally become members of the Schengen area without border controls before the end of the year, the Portuguese presidency of the EU has confirmed. Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and the Czech Republic have all fulfilled the criteria to join the “Schengen zone”, Portuguese Deputy Minister for the Interior Jose Magalhaes announced on 26 October, at a meeting of the representatives of 18 member states in Prague. Only Cyprus, the tenth state to have joined the EU in 2004, has decided to keep its borders in place for one more year. The group of nine countries will join the Schengen zone on 21 or 22 December, according to a diplomatic source. The initial timetable provided for the effective lifting of border controls at the end of December 2007. Controls at international airports will be lifted in March 2008 (EUROPE 9444). The interior ministers of the EU will take the final decision to remove border controls on 8 November. However, there still remains one problem to be resolved, as Austria has announced its intention of continuing to patrol its borders with the new members of the zone. Austria hopes to sign a memorandum of understanding with its neighbours on this issue. “The Schengen evaluation committee took the view that we were ready. There is no serious reason to maintain any transition periods”, said Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer. “Austria will not be able to keep this position for very long”, said a diplomat, who feels that this is an overall problem relating to the new division of border police within the context of the extension of the Schengen area. The Schengen zone currently has 15 members (the 15 “old” member states minus the United Kingdom and Ireland, plus Norway and Iceland). (B.C.)