Schengen Agreement

Name given to two agreements in 1985 and 1990 between a number of European Union (EU) states to abolish border controls between participating countries. The Schengen rules include common policies on harmonization of external border controls (co-ordinated by the EU's Frontex agency), temporary entry (under Schengen Visas), and cross-border police and judicial co-operation. They apply in all or part to the 27 EU states and four non-EU members (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland); 24 states have implemented the rules in full. Ireland and the UK did not sign the 1990 Schengen Convention and have kept the right to opt out of the rules; they have kept border controls but participate in police and judicial cooperation.

The two agreements which form the Schengen Agreement are: Schengen I, a 1985 agreement between Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which introduced a ‘fast track’ procedure for people and vehicles without visa requirements to affix a green disc to their windscreens; and Schengen II, a 1990 convention between the same states for gradual abolition of checks at their common borders.