Borderless skies

Today is another historic day for Malta within the context of our EU membership. For the first time, everyone travelling by air between Malta and any other Schengen state will be doing so without going through any border checks, whether on departure or arrival. The last remaining frontier between Malta and the rest of the Schengen area has therefore been dropped.

This is yet another important development in the process of European integration. Naturally however, everyone travelling would still be required to carry an identification document for security reasons, in the case of Maltese citizens their passport or identity card.

The lifting of air borders marks the second step in a process that first saw Malta officially join the Schengen area on December 21 last year, when sea borders were lifted. Eight other EU member states from central and eastern Europe followed suit. Malta, along with these states, lifted its air borders today. This means that Maltese citizens are now able to travel to cities in up to 23 different countries in Europe without going through border controls - travelling to popular destinations like Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Prague and Rome has instantly become more convenient.

One might think that such facilitation of travel may have come about at the expense of security. This is absolutely not the case. Membership of the Schengen area means that Malta is abiding by common rules governing the management of the external borders.

Whenever Maltese citizens travel outside the Schengen area, and upon their return, their passport will be checked to confirm their identity. Checks on third country nationals (those who are neither citizens of an EU state nor of a Schengen state) include verification through the Schengen Information System (SIS) - an IT information exchange system connecting the Police forces of the participating states. Among other data, it features a list of third country nationals for whom an alert has been issued by a participating state and who therefore would not be admitted into the Schengen area.

Third country nationals subject to a visa requirement will be issued with a Schengen visa. This is issued by diplomatic officers before the prospective holder enters the Schengen area. Each visa application is vetted by the other Schengen states, thereby adding yet another level of security.

Thus, apart from enhancing security, the Schengen visa also facilitates travel for third country nationals, since the holder will be able to travel to all Schengen states utilising a single visa issued by Malta.

Clearly, these measures ensure that the dismantling of internal border controls do not take place at the expense of security. In fact, in order for Malta to be admitted into the Schengen area, the Maltese authorities had to undergo a series of rigorous evaluations to assess their capabilities in several fields, including external border control, police co-operation, issue of visas at consulates in third countries as well as the implementation and management of the SIS. Upon completion of the evaluation sessions, the Maltese authorities, with the participation and co-ordination of the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs, succeeded in passing all the tests.

Schengen membership was also made possible by the investment of all the stakeholders. These include the police force, which established the SIRENE (Supplementary Information Request at National Entry) unit, whose task it is to ensure constant co-operation with counterparts in other Schengen states, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which carried out the necessary upgrades at the consulates in third countries, to comply with Schengen visa issuance requirements.

Moreover, investment has also been made by Malta International Airport and the Viset terminal, with a view to ensuring the physical separation of passengers according to whether their destination is within the Schengen area. Such investment was essential to fulfil Malta's objective, that of becoming part of Schengen.

It is indeed owing to these efforts that border controls, which were until recently associated with all travel to and from Malta, no longer apply with respect to Malta and another 23 European countries. This has effectively eliminated former barriers, thereby facilitating travel for Maltese citizens, making Europe our country rather than our continent.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici is Minister for Home Affairs and Justice.