EU split over Schengen expansion

Summary:

The EU is divided over a plan to allow the ten new member states to join the Schengen area as early as next October.

A meeting of the ten new member states next week (30 November) is expected to put pressure on the rest of the EU ahead of a crucial meeting of justice ministers to support their early entry into the passport and border-free zone.

The plan, put forward by Portugal, would allow Schengen expansion under the current database rather than waiting for a controversial new system, known as the Schengen Information System (SIS II).