Seven EU newcomers press for original date of Schengen expansion

Seven EU newcomers have urged the European Commission not to postpone their entry to the Schengen border-free zone. The Visegrad Four - of which the Czech Republic is a member - and the three Baltic states called on the European Commission to honor the original agreement and extend the Schengen area by October 2007. The European Commission said recently that a postponement by up to a year seemed inevitable because of technical problems involving the setting up of a new police database. The seven newcomers said they were ready to assume all obligations which stem from being a part of the Schengen area and have urged the European Commission to consider a compromise proposal submitted by Portugal which would enable enlargement to take place as planned.