European Diary:The citizens of nine European Union states will get an early Christmas present next month when internal border checks are removed between them and 13 other countries participating in the Schengen free travel area.
This will enable people to move around a 3.6 million sq km area in the EU without having to show passports, enabling them to avoid lengthy queues at land, sea and air borders. "We have taken a very historic decision to lift European borders and enlarge Schengen," said EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini at a meeting last week, which set December 21st as the date to remove checks.
Schengen is a body of EU law that enables much greater freedom of movement for people while at the same time introducing new measures to maintain and reinforce security, usually extra police and judicial co-operation.
Named after a village in Luxembourg that sits at the meeting point between Germany, France and the Benelux states, it enables foreign visitors to travel around the area on a single travel visa.
Joining Schengen was a key goal for Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. "For Polish citizens this has huge psychological and symbolic meaning," says Pawel Swieboda, director of the Polish think tank Demos Europa.
"It represents the breaking down of borders, which have been strongly enshrined in the Polish mentality while living under the Iron Curtain. It wasn't easy for us to travel abroad or cross borders then."
Extending Schengen was also a point of principle for new member states.
"It means not only the lifting of border checks but also of the division of Europe into the old and the new ones," Slovak interior minister Robert Kalinak told journalists last week.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan was not present at the meeting of his EU ministerial colleagues to witness the historic enlargement of the Schengen zone but Minister of State at the Department of Justice Seán Power, who did attend, said Ireland has no intention of following suit.
"Under the Schengen rules we'd be obliged to have border controls with Northern Ireland. That is one of the reasons we are not in Schengen," explained a member of the Irish delegation, who noted that Britain has no current intentions to join the Schengen system.
The maintenance of the common travel area between Ireland and Britain remains the key priority for the Government.
Irish officials readily concede that the erection of border posts along the Border between the Republic and Northern Ireland is politically unthinkable, forcing Dublin to follow London's lead when it comes to border policy.
However, recent moves in Britain to establish a new "electronic border system" are causing some politicians to question whether it is time to re-evaluate Schengen.
The proposed system will establish electronic border controls between Britain and Ireland and require Irish citizens to show their passports when travelling by air or sea.
The border between the Republic and Northern Ireland will not be affected but it is unclear if Northern Irish citizens will have to show a passport when travelling to Britain, a factor that is causing concern for unionists such as Rev Ian Paisley, who is seeking clarification from the Home Office.
"I think we need to assess if the common travel is of any value to Irish citizens any more," says Gay Mitchell, Fine Gael MEP.
"If there are border controls introduced between Ireland and Britain then I think it is time for us to join Schengen . . .
"And I think it would be possible to have Northern Ireland join Schengen yet remain in Britain, if the Northern Irish administration wanted to bring this about."
Unionist politicians are deeply sceptical about joining Schengen without Britain.
"I certainly would not advocate this action," says Ulster Unionist MEP Jim Nicholson. "I think it could demean the Britishness of Northern Irish people and cause legal problems."
But if fears of terrorism and illegal immigration prompt London to introduce passport checks for Northern Irish citizens travelling to England, Scotland and Wales, perhaps offering passport-free travel to 23 other EU states would prove popular with the public.
An all-island bid to join Schengen would also enable the Government to avoid setting up its own e-borders system, which could cost tens of millions of euro in fees.
It would also reaffirm to the Irish public that the Government, rather than Britain, is driving justice policy, according to Hugo Brady, an analyst at the London-based think tank Centre for European Reform.
"Following on from Ireland's decision to follow London and opt out of key parts of the EU Reform Treaty, it increasingly looks like Ireland is a small country latched to Britain like a koala on justice issues . . .
"By choosing Schengen, Ireland would gain independence and an equal place at the EU table," says Brady, who admits domestic politics in Britain make it highly unlikely London will join Schengen any time soon.
Given the benefits of joining the EU free travel area, perhaps it is time for Mr Lenihan to talk to unionists about the possibility of making an all-island bid to join Schengen.