The Schengen area

SUMMARY OF:

It aims to allow European Union (EU) residents to travel across the internal borders of EU Member States without being checked or having to show their passports.
Opening up internal borders is one side of the Schengen coin. The other is ensuring the safety of its citizens. This involves tightening and applying uniform criteria on controls on non-Schengen nationals entering the EU at the common external border, developing cooperation between border guards, national police and judicial authorities and using sophisticated information-exchange systems.
The Schengen acquis has been amended as new countries have joined the area and as new EU legislation has been incorporated into it.

Cooperation

Schengen cooperation evolved from an initial plan between a handful of governments into a fully fledged EU policy area in the following stages.

1985. Belgium, West Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (5 of the then 10 European Economic Community countries, now the EU Member States) sign an agreement, in the Luxembourg village of Schengen, on the gradual abolition of their internal border controls.
1990. The same five countries sign the Schengen Convention supplementing the agreement and laying down the measures and safeguards to put the policy of no internal border controls into effect.
1995. The implementation of the Schengen agenda begins with the participation of seven EU Member States.
1997. The Treaty of Amsterdam brought the Schengen acquis within the EU’s legal framework.

Membership

Starting with five founding members, the Schengen area now includes all the Member States – except for Bulgaria, Ireland, Cyprus and Romania – together with four European Free Trade Association countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Since 1 January 2023, checks on persons at internal land and sea borders between Croatia and the other countries in the Schengen area have been lifted and the Schengen acquis has fully applied to Croatia (Council Decision (EU) 2022/2451).

Internal border checks in practice

Anyone, whatever their nationality, can cross an internal border within the Schengen area without being checked.
National authorities can carry out police spot checks either at the border or in border areas when these are based on general information and experience and are not systematic passport controls.
Individuals are required to carry certain travel documents, depending on whether they are EU nationals, non-EU family members or non-EU citizens.
A Schengen country may exceptionally reintroduce border controls, initially for up to 30 days, if there is a serious threat to public policy or internal security. It must inform other Schengen countries, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the public.

External borders

The Schengen area has gradually tightened controls on its external borders, consolidating them into a single set of rules. These rules now cover:

the manner in which checks of people crossing an EU external border should be conducted according to the Schengen Borders Code;
the harmonisation of entry conditions with a common visa policy and rules on short stay visas (up to 3 months);
greater police cooperation, with rights of cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit;
stronger judicial cooperation through a faster extradition system and the transfer of criminal judgments between jurisdictions.

The Schengen information system (SIS)

This large-scale computer database:

supports external border control and law enforcement cooperation between Schengen countries;
was created in 1995 and subsequently expanded, most recently in 2018 because of the new migration and security challenges;
contains information on:
- suspected criminals,
- individuals who may not have the right to enter or stay in the EU,
- missing persons,
- stolen, misappropriated or lost property;
is used by national authorities responsible for:
- border controls,
- police and customs checks,
- public prosecutions in criminal proceedings and judicial inquiries prior to charge,
- visas and residence permits;
may be accessed by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation.

Visa information system (VIS)

Membership conditions

Countries applying to join the Schengen area must meet certain conditions and must be able to:

control their external borders and issue uniform Schengen visas;
cooperate with other national law enforcement agencies to ensure a high level of security;
apply the common set of Schengen rules (known as the Schengen acquis), relating to such things as carrying out land, sea and air border controls, issuing visas, supporting police cooperation and protecting personal data;
use the Schengen information system.

The Schengen Agreement, originally involving seven Member States, entered into force on 26 March 1995, abolishing internal border controls.

For further information, see: