Swiss to enter no borders zone on 12 December

26 November 2008

BRUSSELS – Controls at the land borders between European Union nations and Switzerland will end on 12 December, while controls at airports will stop on 29 March, the EU’s French presidency announced Tuesday.

The decision allowing Switzerland into Europe’s Schengen passport-free zone will be formalised on Thursday at a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels, said a diplomat from France, which currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.

Switzerland, which is not an EU member state, voted in a 2005 referendum to join the Schengen area.

It would become the 25th member of the zone, which also includes non-EU countries Iceland and Norway.

[AFP / Expatica]