Schengen Group

Association of states in Europe that in theory adhere to the ideals of the Schengen Convention, notably the abolition of passport controls at common internal borders and the strengthening of external borders. The Convention, which first came into effect in March 1995, was signed by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands in 1985; Italy in November 1990; Portugal and Spain in 1991; Greece in 1992; Austria in 1995; and Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and the first two non-European Union (EU) countries, Iceland and Norway in 2001.

It was first introduced on a three-month trial basis. In May 1995, several EU countries urged Italy to introduce tighter entry controls, believing that many illegal immigrants were entering the EU through Italy. The pact was renewed permanently in June 1995 by all signatories except France, which invoked a clause allowing it to continue passport checks for a further six months; in March 1996, France again refused to implement the agreement due to concerns about the risk of drugs coming in from the Netherlands.

The Convention stemmed from an outline agreement reached by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands at Schengen in Luxembourg in June 1985.