Schengen agreement

Schengen agreement
an agreement signed in 1985 in the Luxembourg town of Schengen by seven EU countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain) which came into force in 1995. It removed border controls for people travelling between these countries which made travel easier. More European countries have joined since and in 2003 15 countries, known as the Schengen area, were part of the agreement, with more new EU countries expected to join in the future. The UK and Ireland have chosen to stay outside the Schengen area.

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▪ international convention
 international convention initially approved by Belgium, France, West Germany (later Germany), Luxembourg, and The Netherlands in Schengen, Lux., on June 14, 1985. The signatories agreed to begin reducing internal border controls, with the ultimate goal of allowing free movement of persons between countries within the Schengen area. To implement this, a system of shared policies regarding visa and asylum applications was adopted by member countries, and a massive database, known as the Schengen Information System (SIS), was created to share information about persons and goods transiting the Schengen zone. By the time the agreement went into effect in March 1995, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece had joined the original five members, with Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden following soon after. Although the Schengen Agreement originated outside the framework of the European Union, the Treaty of Amsterdam brought it into the corpus of EU law in 1999. Upgrades were made to the SIS to aid national law enforcement bodies. In 2007 the Schengen area expanded to include the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The area was further enlarged by the addition of Switzerland the following year.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Schengen Agreement — The term Schengen Agreement is used for two agreements concluded among European states in 1985 and 1990 which deal with the abolition of systematic border controls among the participating countries. By the Treaty of Amsterdam, the two agreements… …   Wikipedia

  • Schengen Agreement —    The agreement, originally signed by five European Union (EU) countries (France, Germany and the Benelux countries) in 1985, which refers to the gradual abolition of controls at the common frontiers. Some measures taken under Schengen referred… …   Glossary of UK Government and Politics

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  • Schengen Agreement —   A proposed agreement by several Member States to create a border free zone among themselves …   Glossary of the European Union and European Communities

  • (the) Schengen Agreement — the Schengen Agreement UK [ˈʃeŋən əˌɡriːmənt] US [ˈʃeŋən əˌɡrimənt] an agreement between the countries of the European Union to get rid of all controls at their borders, and so allow people and goods complete freedom to move between their… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Schengen area — ➡ Schengen agreement * * * …   Universalium

  • Schengen — may refer to:* Schengen Agreement, including the Schengen Convention * Schengen, Luxembourg, a village in Luxembourg where the Schengen agreement was established * Schengen Information System …   Wikipedia

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