(BRUSSELS) - European Union interior ministers approved Thursday the entry of nine new countries into Europe's passport-free Schengen area on December 21, an EU official said.

The move, seen in Brussels as an early Christmas present, will bring an end to long queues of people and road freight at borders, a problem which has grown into a priority for the countries since they joined the EU in 2004.

Sea and land border controls between the current 15 Schengen area nations and the nine -- Malta plus eight Central and East European countries -- will end after midnight on December 20, the official confirmed.

Air travel is to be opened up from March 30.

Travellers will be able to visit the entire Schengen area with a single visa.

At the moment the Schengen treaty, which abolished border checks between its members, counts all the oldest EU members except Britain and Ireland, plus non-EU nations Norway and Iceland.

The decision to expand it was taken following a detailed assessment carried out over two years.

The first of the two conditions needed for joining was met by the nine in early September when the countries plugged into an electronic database that allows authorities to swap details on wanted people, objects or vehicles.

For the second condition, concerning the security of their borders with non-EU countries, experts have over the last year inspected the controls and described them, according to a draft EU text, as "satisfying".

The European Parliament must also give its opinion on the entry of the nine -- the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia -- but this is considered a formality.

The ministers will then rubber stamp the decision in December.

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Switzerland, the latter which signed an agreement on its association with the bloc in 2004, are expected to fully join the border-free zone in coming years.

Council conclusions on Schengen evaluation on new member States

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