Speech of the PM of the Czech M. Topolánek at the border crossing Strážný on the occasion of Czech Republic's entering the Schengen area, 21.12. 2007

Here at Strážný it is my second stop signalizing removal of borders between our European neighbours. In the South Bohemia it will be a stop with the Bavarian Chancellor Günter Beckstein. I must say straight in the introduction that I am glad we managed, together with Germans and Bavarians of course, to overcome initial fears and suspicion of enlargement of the Schengen area. Besides, we managed that for the second time. First, we had to jointly break down prejudice when an approval to our entering the European Union was necessary. I regard as symbolical that we remove the last barrier today that divided Czechs and Germans. Thus, the after-November process is crowned; the process when it was necessary, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, to remove many other Berlin Walls, walls which had been built of fears, resentments and prejudice.
We were successful. And thanks to that we were able to enforce enlargement of the Schengen area as per the end of this year. I am sure that nobody will regret it, as well as nobody regretted our accession to the EU. I hope that also other countries, which want or will want to access the EU, will have the same chance. The process of barrier removal must not be ceased. Everybody will profit from it, if we remove walls. We can see here a process which has clear target and which is directed to the future. We have gone through a long way since the time when the iron curtain divided us and when our borders were surrounded by wires. We cut those wires off and began to travel and to do business much more. In the end we met Germans in the EU. And now we will not need passports to meet each other any longer. We have certainly reason for celebration. We have made further significant step in the European integration, a step which will contribute to people on both sides of borders. We have found courage to remove borders. It is good news for Europe, and it is also good news for Germans and Czechs. Let us spread this good news before Christmas. Now, we are really in a single house.