Helsinki - The five Nordic countries will in March 2001 join 10 other European states in observing the Schengen treaty, significantly widening a zone of easy crossborder travel in Europe, officials said yesterday.
The Nordic countries, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, will be able to implement the treaty from March 25th after EU justice and home affairs ministers yesterday cleared the way for them to join the Schengen zone, officials said.
Britain and Ireland are the only EU members that have not signed the treaty, which since 1995 has abolished identity checks at the common borders of signatory states and created a single external border where immigration checks are made.