Switzerland will join the European Union's passport-free travel zone in December under an agreement reached Nov. 27.

Switzerland is not a member of the 27-nation bloc but is nearly surrounded by EU states.

The EU's 27 interior ministers said Switzerland had met the necessary security standards to join the borderless zone, which includes 24 European countries.

Swiss authorities will drop identity checks at land borders Dec. 12 and will lift controls at airports as of March 29 next year.

EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Jacques Barrot said Swiss membership in the so-called Schengen zone could be suspended next year if a Swiss referendum planned for February overturns an earlier decision to allow EU citizens in the landlocked country to live and work freely.