The date of the 21st of December 2007 has become another historical milestone for Malta and Gozo - indeed a step further in the process of European integration has been completed. On this date, the smallest EU Member State joined the Schengen area along with another eight EU Member States, namely the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. On this day, these countries lifted their land and sea borders, which mean that persons traveling between these countries as well as these countries and the other Schengen states are no longer subject to border checks.

However, the advantages brought about by Schengen accession, which will become even more evident when the air borders are lifted in March 2008, thereby facilitating travel to up to 23 destinations, did not come about automatically. Like the other EU Member States seeking to join the Schengen area, Malta had to undergo a rigorous evaluation process, as Schengen is not just about the lifting of the internal borders, but also about maintaining a high level of security and cooperation between the authorities of the states concerned.

Malta was evaluated in respect of its capability to implement the Schengen acquis relating to:

? Data Protection;

? External Border Management;

? Police Cooperation;

? Implementation and management of the Schengen Information System (SIS);

? The setting up and management of the office that will be used as a focal point of contact for sharing of information (SIRENE - Supplementary Information Request at National Entry); and,

? The Issuing of Visas at Consulates in third countries.

Malta's accession to the Schengen area, which was formally endorsed by the Justice and Home Affairs Council held earlier this month, has been possible only because at the end of the evaluation process Malta passed all these evaluations. This is to the credit of a number of stakeholders, including mainly the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Investment and Information Technology, the Malta Police Force, the Management Efficiency Unit and the Malta Information Technology and Training Services Ltd. who in a spirit of collaboration and teamwork managed to ensure timely implementation. Appreciation goes also to the Governments of Portugal, the United States, Italy and Austria for the invaluable assistance extended to the Maltese authorities in the implementation of this complex project.

Essentially, accession to Schengen prompted us to invest in the security of our country and our citizens especially to ensure a safer external border. Besides works and investments undertaken by the operators of Malta International Airport and VISET at the Seaport with a view to separating the Schengen from the non-Schengen passenger flows, which were primary requirements for Schengen accession, substantial investments have also been made by Government with the support of EU funding. In this regard, the Police have made substantial investment in equipment and have allocated and trained 19 officers with a view to set up the SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request at the National Entry) office, which exchanges information and intelligence with the relevant officers in the countries forming part of the Schengen area, thereby contributing to the fight against cross-border crime. In its daily operation the office is supported by the Schengen Information System (SIS) on a 24/7 basis. This system, which has been set up with the assistance of the present Portuguese Presidency through the SIS1forall project, will enable the Police to identify third country nationals seeking to enter Malta from a third-country who should not be admitted to the Schengen area by reason of commission of a criminal or other offence in another Schengen state, stolen vehicles etc.

Moreover, substantial investments have been made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Schengen Implementation Unit, which was set up in 2003 in order to streamline and coordinate the Ministry's efforts to align Malta's consular matters with the Schengen acquis. This Unit is therefore responsible for matters relating to visa issuance procedures. Investments have also been made in five of Malta's diplomatic and consular representations, namely Tripoli, Moscow, Beijing, Tunis and Cairo, which are now issuing Schengen visas - visas issued by Malta but valid for all the Schengen area - in situ. This system ensures that a high level of security is maintained as the process leading up to the issuing of a visa, which may result in a refusal, is completed when the applicant is still abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also concluded bilateral agreements with Austria and Italy with a view to ensuring greater representation for Malta in third countries.

In order to ensure proper functioning of Malta's visa issuance procedures the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also set up the Central Visa Unit (CVU) this year. This Unit is Malta's central authority in this regard, and its function is to process visa requests, via the Visa Management System, which together with networking facilitation between all of Malta's diplomatic missions and consular posts, will play a key role in application and authorisation procedures.

The importance of Schengen accession - which combines greater mobility accompanied by enhanced security measures - becomes even more evident when coupled with Malta's adoption of the Euro at its national currency on 1st January 2008, as this will enable the Maltese to travel to Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain not only without going through border checks, but also without having to go through monetary exchange. Thus making the ideal Fl-Ewropa f' pajjizi a concrete reality.