Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs
December, 2  1999

PRESS RELEASE

Greece meets all necessary Schengen Pact criteria for its full integration into this European Union system, which allows for the unrestricted travel of E.U. citizens to all signatory member-States.

According to a decision of a Schengen - Norway - Iceland Joint Committee of Permanent Representatives arrived at on November 25, 1999, Greece will join the Pact on January 1, 2000, although several secondary airports in Greece’s provinces will not be included in the initial phase, they will, however, be integrated by March 2000. The decision will be officially approved during a meeting of the same Committee at Ministerial level on December 2-3 in Brussels.

Concerning this decision, the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Christos Rokofyllos, made the following statement: “It is a new and important upgrading of our country within Europe. The unification of Greek territory with the rest of the Schengen territory will complete our country’s inclusion into a democratic region of guaranteed security”.