Borderless European Union a boon to travellers

It is so convenient now to travel within the borderless European Community, though with the exception of Britain. Travelling from London, on the Eurostar, we just need to go through French immigration control before boarding the train, and similarly, on our return, to go through British immigration control while in Paris. But within the EC countries like Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Germany, there is no checking of passports.

With the use of the common Euro, it has also got rid of the hassle of having to change into different currencies while travelling from one country to another. But I can imagine the leaders of each country must have had a hard time thrashing out the details of joining, in order to get a fair deal.

Britain, under Margaret Thatcher, seemed to have got a good deal in terms of subsidies from EC for the farmers. But the fact that Sterling remains so robust must have been the major stumbling block in its replacement by Euro.