New Schengen borders

Some say it is the definite end of the Iron Curtain while others call it a “New Fortress in Europe” and fear it will result in the influx of immigrants and a new wave of crime.

The European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone has just expanded eastwards to nine nations, most of them being former communist countries, including Poland. This means that EU travelers won’t need passports to cross both land and sea borders. Dropping checking procedures, however, does not mean the end of border controls of people leaving or entering the zone, especially in the case of Poland’s eastern neighbors.

There were cheers and fireworks at many Polish border crossings at midnight as barriers finally were brought down. As a result, it is now possible to travel 4,000 km all the way from Estonia to Portugal without showing a passport. In terms of Poland, stretching the Schengen zone eastwards to correspond with the external EU frontiers, will mean tightening the borders with Ukraine, Belarus and also Russia. At the same time, travelling from Poland to western and southern Europe will become trouble-free. Many Poles welcomed the decision pointing to the ease of travelling, while analysts also suggested a potential boost in business and trade cooperation. Polish officials say this country is well prepared to face its new tasks. Minister of Administration and Internal Affairs Grzegorz Schetyna:

‘We will not be checked but of course unless border guards deem it necessary. But there will be no lines at the border crossing points and no problems like waiting for one’s turn in a car’.

But outside the EU, especially in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia people fear this will lead to the creation of what’s already been dubbed "fortress Europe" where travel will be more difficult. Tadeusz Iwański of the Ukrainian section of Polish Radio says that it will lead to the closing of EU doors for Ukrainians.

‘Well, generally for Ukrainians it would mean problems because they will have to pay for visas so the difference would be significant. The Ukrainians are thinking about the enlargement of the Schengen zone. Politicians are greeting Poland of course but on the cultural level many Ukrainian intellectuals are thinking of it as deepening the division in Europe’.

His views are echoed in Belarus. Dzmitry Hurnievič is a Belarusian journalist working in Poland:

‘As a Belarusian I don't understand this step of the EU because as I know the Schengen visa is for illegal immigrants from Asia and other parts of our planet. But Belarus, it's Europe and the price for this Schengen visa is very, very big. Sixty euro - it's just impossible for Belorusians to pay this money because our medium monthly salary is about 100 euro. For me dialogue between Belarus and the European Union is finished at this point’.

Others, especially in western European countries fear that opening of the borders will result in crime increase and that the EU's new external borders with former Soviet republics will be less secure against illegal immigration. Professor Irena Rzeplińska of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights says that Poland may be facing some problems shortly.

‘We have to remember that if we have on our eastern border a foreigner who says: "I'd like asylum/ I am a refugee" so this is the obligation of the European Union countries to take them inside their country’

The overall impact of the enlargement of the Schengen zone remains to be seen, but Poland, just as the remaining eight newcomers will definitely have its share of both positive and negative experiences.

http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul72266_New_Schengen_borders_.html