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Schengen Agreement

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  Implementing countries
  Implementing through partnership with a signatory state
  Members (not yet implemented)
  Expressed interest in joining
File:Schengen Monument.jpg
A monument to the Agreement in Schengen
A typical Schengen border crossing without any border control post, just the common EU-state sign welcoming the visitor, as here between Germany and Austria

The 1985 Schengen Agreement is an agreement among European states which allows for the abolition of systematic border controls between the participating countries. It also includes provisions on common policy on the temporary entry of persons (including the Schengen Visa), the harmonisation of external border controls and cross-border police co-operation.

A total of 30 countries – including most European Union states and three non-EU members Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland – have signed the agreement and 15 have implemented it so far. The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom only take part in the police co-operation measures and not the common border control and visa provisions. Border posts and checks have been removed between Schengen area1 countries (see Customs Control section for details) and a common 'Schengen visa' allows tourist or visitor access to the area.

1Schengen area – common name for countries that have already implemented the agreement


The agreement was originally signed on 14 June 1985, by five European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands). The agreement was signed aboard the ship Princesse Marie-Astrid on the Moselle River, near Schengen, a small town in Luxembourg on the border with France and Germany.

Membership and implementation

The agreement signed in 1985 established the steps to be taken to create the Schengen area. An additional document, known as the Schengen Convention, was created which put the Schengen area into practice. This second document replaced the first and was signed by each country on the dates shown below.

For each member country there has been a delay between signing the agreement and actually implementing it. Although the original agreement was signed on 14 June 1985, it was not until almost a decade later, 26 March 1995, that Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain became the first countries to implement it.

Membership

Inclusions and exceptions

See also: Special member state territories and their relations with the European Union

Included in the Schengen zone:

The following territories of the membership countries are not covered by the agreement:

The following territories of the membership countries are indirectly covered, and do not have full passport check against the Schengen zone:

  • Greenland and the Faroe Islands of Denmark, although formally excluded from the Schengen area, are integrated with it. (It was laid down in the association agreement with Denmark that persons travelling between the Faroe Islands and Greenland on the one hand, and the Schengen member states on the other hand, are not subject to a border check. The traditional Free Movement of Persons acquis of the European Community is not applicable to Greenland and to the Faroe Islands.)
  • Livigno of Italy is a "tax haven" and maintains customs checks and random passport control.

Implementation

Countries that have already implemented the terms of the agreement:

The ten Eastern and Central-European countries except for Cyprus [1] who signed the Schengen Agreement on 1 May 2004 are set to implement it on 31 December 2007 (overland and sea borders) and 29 March 2008 (airports)[1]. Those dates (see [2], time 3:55) still could change:

Signatories yet to implement the agreement:

Each new country, before fully implementing the Schengen Agreement, will need to have its preparedness assessed in four areas: air borders, visas, police cooperation, and personal data protection. This evaluation process involves a questionnaire and visits of EU experts to selected institutions and workplaces of the country under assessment. The Council of the European Union is scheduled to review the results between April and September of 2007. [4]

Non-signatories of note

  • San Marino, although not formally part of the Schengen zone, has an open border with Italy (although some random checks are made by Carabinieri, Polizia di San Marino and Guardia di Finanza).
  • Monaco, which borders onto the Mediterranean Sea: The Schengen Agreement is administered as if Monaco were a part of France, with French authorities carrying out the Schengen checks at Monaco's sea port.
  • Liechtenstein is not yet part of the Schengen area; it has an open border with Switzerland (which has not yet implemented the agreement) but border controls are still carried out between it and its Austrian EU-neighbour. As part of the European Economic Area (EEA) it applies the Traditional Free Movement of Persons acquis of the European Community; Liechtenstein intends to adhere to the Schengen area and it applied to join in the autumn of 2005. The EU Council of Ministers gave their assent to the start of the negotiations in late February 2006. It is expected to be implemented by Liechtenstein in 2008. [5]
  • Vatican City has expressed a desire to join Schengen. It already has an open border with Italy, but enforcing the Schengen Agreement will allow for closer cooperation in information sharing and similar activities covered by the Schengen Information System.[6]
  • Andorra is not integrated into the Schengen zone and border controls remain. Usually non-EU nationals holding a valid Schengen visa are allowed to enter Andorra from France/Spain by road without any passport control at the border.

Signatories of the Decision

  • The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland are the only two EU members not to fully implement the Schengen Agreement; Ireland and the UK share a Common Travel Area with no border controls between the two. Ireland is thus unable to join the Schengen Agreement without dissolving this agreement with the UK. However the UK remains reluctant to surrender its own border controls and work permit system. Therefore United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland are signatories of the Council Decision (covering police co-operation) but not the Council Regulations (covering asylum, visas and border controls).

Principles behind the agreement: simpler travel and improved external borders control

Before Schengen, citizens of western European countries could travel to neighbouring countries by showing their national ID card or passport at the border. Nationals of some countries were required to have separate visas for every country in Europe they wished to visit. A vast network of border posts existed around the continent, disrupting traffic, trade and causing delays and costs to both businesses and visitors.

Since the Schengen Agreement, border posts have been closed (and often demolished) between participating countries. Road traffic is no longer delayed; road, rail and air passengers no longer have their identity checked when crossing borders (but, see customs below). Citizens of non-EU, non-EEA countries who wish to visit Europe as tourists, and who require a visa to enter the Schengen area, are simply required to get a common Schengen Visa from the Embassy/Consulate of the Schengen country they intend to visit first. After this, they may visit any or all of the Schengen countries as tourists or for business without hindrance. They are not required to get separate visas for all the (Schengen) European countries they wish to visit.

A typical Schengen border (here near Kufstein between Germany and Austria): The traffic island marks the spot where a control post once stood, but was removed in 2000.

Not only does the Schengen Agreement remove border checks between participating countries, but it means that participating countries co-ordinate their external controls. All Schengen members check the identity (national ID card or passport) of incoming and exiting travellers.

National Security

A country is permitted by the article 2.2 of the agreement to reinstate border controls for a short period if it is deemed in the interest of national security. This occurred in Portugal during the 2004 European Football Championship and in France for the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day. It was used again by France shortly after the London bombings in July of 2005. (This was despite the fact that the UK is not part of Schengen and the France-UK border controls were always in place. One of the alleged bombers managed to pass unimpeded through France, only to be arrested in Rome.) Finland briefly reinstated border controls during the 2005 World Championships in Athletics that took place in Helsinki Olympic Stadium during August 2005, and Germany did the same in June 2006 during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

The Schengen Agreement also includes consent to share information about people, via the Schengen Information System. This means that a potentially undesirable person cannot 'disappear' simply by moving from one participant country to another as each country will know the same about the person's background. Previously, a criminal with police in hot pursuit would be safe once they managed to cross the border, but under the agreements of the Schengen Agreement police from one nation can cross national borders to chase their target for up to 30km (18.6 miles.) The officers have to wear their uniforms, their vehicles have to be marked as police vehicles and they may only use their weapons for self-defence.

Air security

When travelling by air between Schengen countries, identification (usually passport or national ID card) must be shown at check-in. This is not a Schengen rule, but an air security rule which equally applies for internal flights within Schengen countries.

ID checks at hotels and other places

According to the Schengen rules all hotels and other types of accommodation must register the name, citizenship and ID number of all foreign citizens [2]. For this reason a passport or a national ID card must be shown at check-in. A similar rule existed before in some countries. This rule is not always enforced.

Customs Control

Most of the members of Schengen are also members of the EU, between which customs controls have also been abolished, leaving no checks at all at the borders. On borders between two Schengen members where one is a non-EU country, customs checks remain. Between two EU members where one is non-Schengen (for example France and the UK), there are identity (passport) checks but no customs checks.

The Schengen Agreement also intends to harmonise the laws and regulations of several policy areas, in order to minimise the extent to which criminals can take advantage of the relaxation of controls. At this point in time this is still a rather grey area: for example, the Dutch policy on drugs differs from the French policy, and a person could buy drugs in the Netherlands and transport them to France to sell on the black market. This is much easier when there are no border controls between the two countries (via Belgium). As a result of this particular difference in policy France insisted on maintaining border controls on people entering France from the Benelux countries for some time after the agreement was implemented.

Likewise some countries, including Sweden and Finland, still maintain customs control at their borders. Their main reasons for having customs control are to control the smuggling of drugs and alcohol. The Schengen treaty allows them, as long as cars not being suspected of smuggling don't have to stop, an easing compared to the pre-Schengen routine.

Non-EU members Norway and Iceland are not a part of the EU customs union and therefore enforce the same level of custom control towards any traveler regardless of whether they come from within the Schengen area or not.

Information sharing

An agreement was signed on 27 May, 2005 by seven countries (Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, and Belgium) at Prüm, Germany. This agreement, based on the principle of availability which began to be discussed after the Madrid bomb attack on 11 March, 2004, could enable them to exchange all data regarding DNA and fingerprint data of concerned persons and to cooperate against terrorism. Sometimes known as the Prüm Convention, this is becoming known as the Schengen III Agreement and is being considered for inclusion in the general European Union agreements. Finland, Portugal, Italy, Slovenia, Romania, Sweden, Slovakia and Bulgaria have also indicated an interest in joining. [7]

Schengen and the European Union

All Schengen Agreement signatories except Norway, Iceland and Switzerland are European Union members. Two EU members (the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) have opted not to partake fully the Schengen Agreement (their reasons are outlined above). The main reason that the non-EU states of Iceland and Norway joined was to preserve the open borders agreement between the Nordic countries that has been in effect since 1952.

The Schengen Agreement was created independently of the European Union in part due to the lack of consensus amongst EU members, and in part because those ready to implement the idea did not wish to wait for others who were not ready. However, the Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated the developments brought about by the Schengen agreement into the European Union framework, effectively making the Schengen Agreement part of the EU. Amongst other things the Council of the European Union took the place of the Executive Committee which had been created under the Schengen agreement. Future applicants to the European Union must fulfil the Schengen Agreement criteria regarding their external border policies in order to be accepted into the EU. The existing signatories who are not EU members have less opportunity to participate in shaping the evolution of the Schengen Agreement as a result of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Their options are effectively reduced to agreeing with whatever is presented before them or withdrawing from the Agreement.

Gaining entry

Member States of the Schengen area have elaborated uniform rules as to the type of visas which may be issued for a short-term stay, not exceeding three months, on the territory of one, several or all of those States.

The Schengen member states offer visa-free travel to holders of certain passports that allows 90-day travel for tourist purposes.

The uniform visa enables aliens that are subject to the visa requirement to present themselves at the external border of the Member State which issued the visa or that of another Member State and request transit or stay, depending on the type of visa. The uniform visa is granted in the form of a sticker affixed by a Member State onto a passport, travel document or another valid document which entitles the holder to cross the border.

In other words, mere possession of a uniform visa does not confer automatic right of entry. It will only be granted if the other transit or entry conditions laid down by the Schengen Agreement have been met, notably the means of subsistence that aliens must have at their disposal, as well as the purpose and the conditions of the stay.

To obtain a Schengen visa the traveller must take the following steps:

  1. He or she must first identify the Schengen country of his or her main destination. This element will determine the State responsible for deciding on the Schengen visa application and therefore the embassy or the consulate where he or she will have lodged the application. If his or her intention is to visit several Schengen countries during the trip, he or she will have to file a visa application at the embassy of the country where he or she will make his first entry in Schengen area. If the Schengen State of the main destination or first entry does not have a diplomatic mission or consular post in his or her country, he or she will have to contact the embassy or the consulate of another Schengen country, normally located in his country, which represents, for the purpose of issuing Schengen visas, the country of his or her principal destination or first entry.
  2. He or she must then present the Schengen visa application to the responsible embassy or consulate. A harmonised form is to be submitted, together with a valid passport and, if necessary, the documents supporting the purpose and conditions of the stay in the Schengen area (aim of the visit, duration of the stay, lodging). He or she will also have to prove means of subsistence, i.e. the funds that he or she has to cover: on the one hand, the expenses of the stay taking into account its duration and the place where he or she will reside and, on the other hand, the return to his or her home country. Certain embassies or consulates sometimes call the applicant to appear in person in order to explain verbally the reasons for the visa application.
  3. The traveller must finally have a travel insurance which covers, for a minimum of € 30 000, any expenses in connection with repatriation for sanitary reasons or with emergency medical treatment occurred during his stay. The proof of the travel insurance must in principle be provided at the end of the procedure, i.e. when a positive decision has already been made as for the granting of the Schengen visa.
  4. Requirements for family members of an EU citizen differ from those indicated above. In general there is no requirement to provide information about employment, or prove means of subsistence. In addition, no fee is required for the visa to be issued.

For citizens of countries not party to the Schengen Agreement, restrictions exist that govern the length of one's stay within the Schengen area. The general rule stipulates a maximum 90-day stay within a 180-day period beginning from the first day of entry. Provided a multiple-entry visa has been granted, one may leave and return a number of times within the 180-day period but the combined stay within the region must total no more than 90 days.

See also

References

  1. ^ eu2006.fi - Internal border controls to be lifted between the new and old Member States as of 31 December 2007 and 29 March 2008
  2. ^ Schengen Aquis article 45
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