The EU's border- and passport-free Schengen zone is going to see its biggest ever enlargement in two weeks time, as interior ministers are set to give their final blessing to the move on Thursday (6 December). It will be a "quite nice Christmas gift", EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini said on the eve of the ministerial decision, which will allow people from Central and Eastern Europe to move freely across the rest of the EU bloc. Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic - which all joined the EU in 2004 - are part of this latest enlargement.
countdown – odpočítávání, odpočet big bang – velký třesk enlargement – rozšíření border – hranice biggestever – doposud největší interiorminister – ministr vnitra blessing – požehnání gift – dárek on the eve of – těsně před, v předvečer decision – rozhodnutí to allow – dovolit to move – pohybovat se rest – zbytek Latvia – Lotyšsko Lithuania – Litva tojoin – připojit se, přidat se k part – součást latest – poslední, nejnovější

Checks at internal land and sea borders will be abolished on 21 December, with air borders to follow in March 2008.
"With [Thursday's] decision, the last barrier to our full EU membership will fall", Slovakia's deputy prime minister Dusan Caplovic said on Monday (5 December), adding that it is time for the 'old versus new' divide in Europe to come to an end.
The Schengen area - established in 1985 in a small Luxembourg village at the geographical meeting-point of Germany, the Benelux countries and France - currently consists of thirteen EU states, plus Norway and Iceland.
check – kontrola internal – vnitřní border – hranice to abolish – zrušit to follow – následovat decision – rozhodnutí

full – plný membership – členství to fall – padat deputy – zástupce prime minister – ministerský předseda to add – dodat divide – rozdělení come to an end – skončit to establish – ustanovit, založit, zavést village – vesnice to consist of – skládat se z currently – v současné době

The UK and Ireland have chosen to stay out and participate only partially in police and judicial cooperation. Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania are yet to meet necessary requirements, while Switzerland is expected to fully take part in Schengen in the coming months. According to commissioner Frattini, the enlargement of the Schengen area will not mean the reduction of security, as 58 monitoring missions were carried on the ground in 2006 and additional fifteen re-evaluations in 2007. The EU's external borders are "secure and safe", he said, adding "I, as an Italian, will consider the Polish-Ukrainian border to be my border".
to chose – vybrat (si) to stay out – zůstat mimo/venku to participate in – účastnit se partially – částečně judicial – soudní …are yet to meet… - ještě musí splnit requirement – požadavek while – zatímco to expect – očekávat to take part in – účastnit se according to – podle enlargement – rozšíření to mean – znamenat (neprav.sloveso: mean, meant, meant) security – bezpečnost to carry – provést, uskutečnit, nosit additional – dodatečný to add – dodat to consider – považovat

Připravuje: Markéta Frýbová