Is the EU headed for disaster????

Their open borders are going to make the EU mightily unpopular in certain countries...

A wave of crime and illegal immigration will sweep across Europe when nine more EU states scrap their border controls next month, it has been claimed.

The creation of a free travel zone means an individual could journey from as far east as the Russian border to Britain's doorstep at Calais without having to show a passport.

The controls are being scrapped under the Schengen agreement, which was signed by all but a handful of EU nations.

Although Britain opted out, critics of Schengen say this country remains a favoured destination for both criminals and economic refugees and faces a new wave of clandestine entry.

In the Ukraine, officials say the country is already struggling to cope with a buildup of migrants gathering at its EU border in the hope of reaching western Europe.

Germany, which is at the heart of the free-travel zone, has been a strong supporter of the extension of Schengen. But the country's police take a different view to its politicians. The union representing Germany's 40,000 frontier officers has called for a massive protest on Thursday in a town on Germany's border with Poland.

It is urging Germany to stop what it calls "the insanity of Schengen" and demanding increased, not relaxed, vigilance on the country's borders.

The Schengen zone was named after the Dutch town where the original deal for a free-travel region was signed by five EU countries in 1985. It currently includes 13 EU member countries, but not Britain, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus.

From next month, most of the countries which joined the EU three years ago - Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Malta - will join the club.