Schengen (Agreement and Convention)

The glossary is being updated given the recent signing of the Treaty of Lisbon.

By the Schengen Agreement signed on 14 June 1985, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands agreed that they would gradually remove controls at their common borders and introduce freedom of movement for all nationals of the signatory Member States, other Member States or third countries.

The Schengen Convention supplements the Agreement and lays down the arrangements and safeguards for implementing freedom of movement. It was signed by the same five Member States on 19 June 1990 but did not enter into force until 1995.

The Agreement and the Convention, the rules adopted on that basis and the related agreements together form the "Schengen acquis". Since 1999, this has formed part of the institutional and legal framework of the European Union by virtue of a protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam.

The Schengen agreements have been extended over time to all 15 old Member States: Italy signed them in 1990, Spain and Portugal in 1991, Greece in 1992, Austria in 1995 and Finland, Sweden and Denmark (under a special arrangement) in 1996. Ireland and the United Kingdom are only partial participants in the Schengen acquis, since their border controls have been maintained.

The 10 new Member States have adopted the Schengen acquis, but a decision of the Council of the European Union will be required before controls at their borders are lifted.

Two non-Community countries -- Iceland and Norway -- have also belonged to the Schengen area since 1996, though they have only a limited role in decision-taking. Switzerland has also begun to work towards joining the Schengen acquis.

Countries that are candidates for Union membership must have accepted the whole of the Schengen acquis at the time of accession.

See:

• Area of freedom, security and justice
• Community acquis
• Free movement of persons (visas, asylum, immigration and other policies)
• Pillars of the European Union