Schengen

The Schengen area

Introduction

The Schengen Area, made up of 22 EU Member States and four other European countries, enables the citizens of those countries to travel freely without passports across the borders of the countries concerned. It is the largest such passport-free zone in the world. The legal basis for the Area was incorporated in the EU Treaties through the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999.

The United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, who have a common travel area of their own created before Schengen came into being, have an opt-out from the Schengen Area agreement but all other EU Member States have joined or will do so as soon as they can convince the present members that they can meet the responsibilities of the system. Because of its island status the UK has always operated border controls at the point of entry and not internal controls such as checks of identity cards that are common in the Schengen Area.

This paper explains the history of the Schengen Area, what it does and looks at the special position of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Background

Prior to the First World War passport-free travel was the norm in Europe but after 1918 travel restrictions became common. The Schengen Agreement of 1985 was an attempt by the countries that joined to create once again a passport-free travel area in Europe. Passport controls would be abolished at the borders between the members of the Schengen Area but they would jointly ensure that on the external borders (and on international flights into any Schengen Area airport from outside the area) tough controls would be maintained on third country citizens wishing to enter the Schengen Area.

The 1985 Agreement was signed in the Luxembourg village of Schengen, where the borders of Germany, France and Luxembourg meet. This initial agreement, signed by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, provided for the replacement of passport controls with visual checks of vehicles, which would be able to cross borders without stopping by travelling at reduced speed through border posts. Five years later, the Schengen Convention of 1990 extended the concept of passport-free travel to air and rail passengers and introduced common visa rules and police and judicial co-operation; Italy joined at that time. Other countries joined the Schengen Area later, including the Nordic countries in 1996.

The 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated the Schengen agreements (the Schengen acquis) into the law of the European Union. All Member States accepted the Schengen concept and agreed they would join save for opt-outs given to the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland (see below). Other exclusions were agreed for certain specific territories such as the Faroe Islands.

Four non-Member States of the EU are participants in Schengen – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – and are bound by the rules agreed under EU law that apply to the Schengen Area but cannot participate in the Council of Ministers meetings that approve the legislation.

Schengen in Practice

The abolition of passport controls between Schengen states means in practice that many physical border posts have been removed. There are no passport controls for air, rail and road passengers when crossing frontiers within the Schengen Area.

Common visa rules mean that a Schengen visa admits the national of a third country to all the Schengen countries that participate in the common visa application system

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