SHOTLIST ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 1. Mid of Swiss-French border at Bardonnex 2. Wide of border post 3. Wide of custom vehicle 4. Two screens inside border guard's office 5. Various of guards inside office 6. Close-up of clock on wall 7. Vehicles crossing border 8. Various of border guards standing outside 9. Pan from custom officer to car, officer asking driver if he had any merchandise to declare, car leaving 10. Two border guards standing outside post 11. Guard speaking to driver, car leaving STORYLINE Switzerland ended systematic passport controls at most of its land borders on Friday, becoming the 25th nation to join Europe's continent-wide zone of open frontiers. The main border with France, Geneva's Bardonnex, was quiet early on Friday. Vehicles were crossing the border sporadically without control, except for merchandise. Swiss accession to the borderless travel zone at midnight closed a gap at the heart of an area which stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the Mediterranean. The move will allow travellers to freely cross Switzerland's land borders from France, Germany, Italy or Austria, all of which have implemented the so-called Schengen agreement. Switzerland will stop checking passports on planes arriving from Schengen countries from March 29 next year. The agreement is named after a small town in Luxembourg where it was first signed in 1985. The Swiss, who are not members of the 27-nation European Union, will keep their strict customs restrictions, but identity checks had already become the exception rather than the rule ahead of the 12 December joining date. The biggest change will be for some non-European nationals living in Switzerland who previously needed a visa to travel to Schengen countries, a requirement that will now be dropped. Likewise, tourists from countries such as China need only apply for a single Schengen visa if they are planning a trip to France and Italy with a stopover in Switzerland. US citizens will be unaffected as they were able to travel visa-free across Switzerland and the Schengen area already. The second major change involves increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies throughout the borderless zone. Since August, Switzerland has had access to the Schengen Information System, a vast database of wanted criminals and stolen goods that has already flagged up 2,000 alerts at Swiss borders. The whole agreement could be put on hold again next year if Swiss nationalists succeed in overturning a deal between Bern and Brussels that allows EU citizens to live and work freely in Switzerland. A referendum on the issue is planned for February. One of the quirks of the Schengen agreement is that for the first time in 84 years the Swiss will have to start patrolling their border with Liechtenstein. The tiny principality, wedged between Switzerland and Austria and with a population of only 35,000, is expected to join the borderless zone at the end of 2009. Until then, the 26-mile (41-kilometre) border will be monitored around the clock by closed-circuit television and mobile patrols. You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/044180139b157297c7fcad9821328dd6 Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

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