Malta’s entry in the Schengen area, along with the introduction of the euro in the new year, will help boost and facilitate tourism as people can use the same currency and there will be no border control, Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday.

The State Secretary in the Interior Ministry of the Slovenian Republic, Zvonko Zinrajh, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea and Justice Parliamentary Secretary Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici were also present at the press conference.

Dr Borg said that 21 December was another historical milestone for Malta because it made another step in its integration within the EU. Malta, along with the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, now forms part of the Schengen area.

The minister said that the advantages of the Schengen area will become more evident in March when the borders on air travel will be lifted.

Malta’s security system has been strengthened through a substantial investment of EU and government funding.

Dr Borg said that the police have made investment in equipment and trained 19 police officers to work in the Sirene Unit, which exchanges information and intelligence with other countries in the Schengen area.

He went on to say that the office is supported by the Schengen Information System (SIS) on a 24/7 basis, which will allow the police to identify third country nationals entering Malta who should not be admitted.

The Internal Administration Minister of the Portuguese Republic, Rui Pereira said that the enlargement of the Schengen area was one of the main priorities of the Portuguese presidency – “one we managed to achieve”.

“Freedom, justice and security are the main EU values and the enlargement of the Schengen area is working and strengthening these values,” he said. The SIS is also responsible for issuing Schengen visas, Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo said.

“Investment has also been made in five of Malta’s diplomatic and consular representations – Tripoli, Moscow, Beijing, Tunis and Cairo – which can now issue Schengen visas which are valid in the whole area,” he said.

Dr Frendo said that his ministry set up the Central Visa Unit this year which will issue and process visa requests and will play a key role in the application and authorisation procedures.

He pointed out that it was a learning process for all the countries involved but added that there was a strong sense of solidarity.