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Travelling across Europe has just been made that little bit easier after the EU decided to scrap boarder controls between nine member states.

From next month passports will no longer be required between Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta.

The moved involves the nine most recently accessioned members of the EU and will come into effect three days before Christmas.

Travellers who are visiting family and friends over the festive period will now be able to travel freely across land and sea borders in much of Eastern Europe – although passports will still be necessary at airports until March.

Under the Schengen agreement, border controls have now been scrapped in 13 EU countries although Britain and Ireland are not included in this batch.

German interior minister Wolfgang Schaueble said before the decision was made: "It is of great importance to the new member states that the Iron Curtain is gone and that controls are abolished."

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