The government has ended the temporary suspension of the free movement Schengen agreement after the island experienced “no terror threat” during the festive season.

In a statement, the Home Affairs Ministry yesterday said passengers would once again be able to travel to and from several European countries carrying only their national identification cards.

Passport control to other Schengen countries at the cruise passenger terminal in Valletta has also been lifted.

“While the international community retained its maximum terror alert over New Year’s Eve, Malta never had any threat and therefore the government can announce that the Schengen rules are now back in force,” the ministry said.

The government had initially suspended the free movement agreement last November as a security measure ahead of the Valletta Summit on migration and the subsequent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Passport control to other Schengen countries at the cruise passenger terminal in Valletta has also been lifted

It had then decided to extend the suspension until the end of the year. Of the 26 countries bound by the Schengen agreement, 22 are part of the EU and the other four are part of the European Free Trade Association.

Suspending the agreement requires approval from Brussels. The last time the government had suspended the agreement was when Pope Benedict visited Malta in 2010.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had decided to suspend the agreement following the discovery of a racket involving foreigners with false passports.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, however, had raised concerns over the move. He had told Dr Muscat to keep his hands off the people’s right to travel freely in Europe.

The sudden decision to temporarily suspend the agreement had also irked travellers who had gone abroad without their passport before the announcement was made.