Schengen area turns 40

On 14 June 1985, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands came together in the town of Schengen and agreed to gradually abolish checks at their internal borders.

They signed the Schengen Agreement, allowing for the free movement of people, goods, and services amongst themselves.

With a population of over 5 200 the village of Schengen in Luxembourg has been on everyone’s lips for 40 years.

People can travel freely between Schengen countries. 

Shifting border controls to our common external borders has reduced paperwork, waiting times and costs.

It has fundamentally transformed how people live, work and travel for the better.

We are safer too, thanks to Schengen.

Reducing barriers internally was accompanied by increased cooperation between police forces, customs authorities and external border control authorities, helping to make Europe more secure and reinforcing our external borders and managing migration more effectively. 

This is essential to fight terrorism, organised crime and hybrid threats.

Schengen Information System (SIS) is the most widely used and largest information sharing system for security and border management in Europe and allows authorities to share and access security alerts in real time across Schengen.

Schengen is a major driver of competitiveness and a true enabler of the single market. Since workers and goods can move freely, companies are able to reduce administrative costs and access larger markets at the same time.

The same goes for the tourism and cultural sectors. Schengen simplifies travel, making Europe an even more attractive tourist destination. For example, visitors coming from non-Schengen countries can access all Schengen 29 countries with just one Schengen visa. This in turn directly benefits revenues for local businesses and economies.

Thanks to Schengen, we have more of all of them.

40 years of expanding our horizons, while bringing us closer together.

Now that’s truly something to celebrate.