Europe's border-free zone expands

The Schengen agreement, which allows passport-free travel across the area, now embraces 24 nations.The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia joined the zone. So, "the curtain of iron" separated East-West camp at one time was removed both in name and in reality. You can travel 4,000km (2,485 miles) from Tallinn in Estonia to Lisbon in Portugal without any border controls.