VALKA, Latvia - Nine new countries in the European Union opened up their borders to their fellow countrymen, extending the Schengen zone on the stroke of midnight.
Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta, Slovenia and Latvia threw open their borders, allowing the free passage of tourists without the need to show a passport at the border check posts.
The latest induction raises the number of countries in the Schengen zone from 15 to 24. Many analysts believe that this move will improve trade and tourism in countries that are a part of the open border agreement.
However there are fears of illegal immigration from eastern countries, such as Ukraine and Russia. This scenario is seen as a disadvantage, but leaders of Western Europe have acknowledged it as an acceptable risk.
Austria's chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, who sawed off the country's border pole with Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico said that the move will prove to be more advantageous to all the members.
"What is Schengen? It is not criminality, it is not uncertainty, it is not fear, it is a big space of security and stability", he said.
The European Commission welcomed the move and addressed concerns from countries outside the EU, stating that a single Schengen visa will suffice visitors' movements to all across the Schengen zone.
