I still remember the gut-wrenching tension of our approach to the border between our native Hungary and Austria. While all our papers were fine, the excitement of crossing from a post-communist country into "free" Europe loomed over our car for hours.
Then, when Hungary joined the EU and the passport-free Schengen area, the frontier, the officers and the nervousness disappeared. The jitters were replaced by an overwhelming feeling of freedom, that we all belonged to a Europe without bo...
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Eszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.