Schengen Area

A group of European countries that have abolished routine passport checks at shared internal borders while coordinating external-border controls and short-stay visa rules.

Schengen Agreement: The agreements that established the removal of routine checks at participating European countries’ internal borders. It supplies the legal framework behind the area’s border-free travel.
Treaty of Rome: The 1957 treaty that established the European Economic Community and laid foundations for European integration. Its common-market project created political pressure to ease movement between European countries.
European Union: A political and economic union of European countries with shared institutions, laws, and policies. The EU is the broader organization that includes many, but not all, Schengen participants.
Freedom of movement: The right or practical ability to travel and reside across jurisdictions without ordinary internal restrictions. Schengen makes routine travel across participating internal borders substantially easier.
Schengen Borders Code: European Union rules governing checks at external borders and the temporary reintroduction of internal border controls. It sets the operational rules for ordinary and exceptional border checks.
Schengen Agreement of 1985: An agreement signed by five European countries in 1985 to begin gradually abolishing checks at their shared borders. This agreement launched the specific project that became the Schengen Area.
European Economic Area: An arrangement extending the European Union’s internal market to Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. It includes countries outside the EU whose Schengen participation illustrates that the two groupings differ.
European migrant crisis: The period of increased migration to Europe, especially in 2015, that strained asylum and border-management systems. The crisis intensified disputes over external-border management and internal checks.
Schengen Information System: A shared database used by participating countries for alerts about people and objects relevant to security and border control. Shared alerts help compensate for reduced routine checks at internal borders.
Schengen Convention: The 1990 convention that set out practical measures for implementing the 1985 Schengen Agreement. It translated the original commitment into detailed rules and procedures.

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