PŘEDSEDA EP H.-G. PÖTTERING SE ZÚČASTNÍ OSLAV ROZŠÍŘENÍ SCHENGENSKÉHO PROSTORU

The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, together with the President of the European Council, Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek; Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso; will participate this Friday morning in the celebrations of the enlargement of the Schengen area at the German-Polish-Czech border in Zittau.  



At midnight from 20 to 21 December, nine member states will join the Schengen area: The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.



President Pöttering made the following statement: "The enlargement of the Schengen area to the east carries a strong symbolic message to the citizens of those countries who have enjoyed membership of the European Union since 2004. The opening of the borders within countries of the European Union is accompanied by a strengthening of security standards on the external borders of the European Union with a view to achieve greater internal security in the Union.



Following the enlargement of the European Union in 2004, within a matter of days we will witness a further step in the integration of those countries in vital European policy areas, but more importantly a further step in the tangible reunification of our continent".