A new iron curtain after the expansion of the Schengen zone

The EU's interior ministers last week paved the way for the expansion of the Schengen zone to cover eight additional Central and Eastern European countries as of 2008. According to Luboš Veselý, although this will give the citizens of the countries in question more freedom of movement, there's a downside: "Last year the ministers already agreed to increase the visa fee to be paid by citizens of non-Schengen states [on the EU's outer border] from 35 to 60 euros. Tourists, students and entrepreneurs from the states of the former Soviet Union will have to pay this sum, which represents a considerable portion of these people's monthly income, to get into the EU. Although the European Union has explained that it is interested in the democratic development of these countries and wants to bind them to Europe, its behaviour signals the contrary. After the expansion of the Schengen zone a new iron curtain will appear."

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