What do Europeans know about border security?

What do Europeans know about border security that we "smart" Americans don't? Here's what a report from the German Der Spiegal.de says:

On Friday, for the first time ever, Germany and Austria will no longer have passport checks on any of its borders except on the frontier with Switzerland. Nine new countries -- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Malta -- will officially become part of the Schengen Agreement, the European treaty that allows for border-free travel. Switzerland will, in 2008, join Norway and Iceland as non-EU members of Schengen. As of this weekend, travelers can go from the easternmost tip of Estonia all the way to the Atlantic coast in Portugal without encountering a single border official (airport checks are to remain in effect for the first few months of 2008).

Meanwhile we "intelligent," "brave" American must surrender a passport at the Canadian and Mexican boarders after January 31, 2008.