NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Schengen Treaty

The Schengen treaty is an agreement between European states which allows for common immigration policies and border system. 26 countries (all European Union states except the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, but including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) have signed the agreement and 15 have implemented it so far. Border posts and checks have been removed between Schengen countries and a common 'Schengen visa' allows access to the area, however the treaty does not cover residency or work permits for non-EU nationals. Made by myself. ... Made by myself. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1876x1317, 188 KB) The monument to the Schengen Treaty in Schengen, from the Luxembourgois Wikipedia Photographer:Cornischong File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1876x1317, 188 KB) The monument to the Schengen Treaty in Schengen, from the Luxembourgois Wikipedia Photographer:Cornischong File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1152x768, 349 KB) Border crossing between Germany and Austria on German Federal route B13. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1152x768, 349 KB) Border crossing between Germany and Austria on German Federal route B13. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... An immigration policy is any policy of a state that affects the transit of persons across its borders, but especially those that intend to work and to remain in the country. ... Border has several different, but related meanings: // Generic borders A border can consist of a margin around the edge of something, such as a lawn, garden, photograph, or sheet of paper. ...

The agreement was originally signed on June 14, 1985, by five European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands). The agreement was signed aboard the ship Princesse Marie-Astrid on the Moselle River, near Schengen, a small town in Luxembourg on the border with France and Germany. June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... Moselle River/Germany The Moselle (French Moselle, German Mosel, from Latin Mosella, little Meuse) is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany, joining the Rhine river at Koblenz. ... Schengen is a wine-growing village in south-eastern Luxembourg near the point where the borders of Germany, France and Luxembourg come together. ...

Its goal was to end border checkpoints and controls within the Schengen area (also known as Schengenland) and harmonise external border controls. It was originally separate from the European Union (then European Community) but has since become an EU competence, although there are some non-EU members inside the Schengen area and some EU members outside. A border checkpoint is, as its name suggests, a place between borders where the identities of the ongoers or their cargo are evaluated. ... The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ...

Additional countries have since also signed the convention, bringing the total number of signatories to twenty-six.

Membership and implementation

The treaty signed in 1985 established the steps to be taken to create the Schengen area. An additional document, called the Schengen Convention (or more fully: Convention applying the Schengen Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the governments of the states of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders), was created which put the Schengen area into practice. This second document replaced the first and was signed by each country on the dates shown below. June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ...

For each member country there has been a delay between signing the treaty (becoming a member) and actually implementing it.

Membership

June 14 is the 165th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (166th in leap years), with 200 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year. ... This article is about the year. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Wikinews-logo. ... Wikinews is a free content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ...

Exceptions

The following territories of the membership countries are not covered by the treaty:

Heligoland during World War I. Heligoland (in German, Helgoland and in North Frisian, Lun, HÃ¥lilÃ¶nj) is a small, German island in the North Sea. ... Jan Mayen Jan Mayen Island, a part of the Kingdom of Norway, is a 373-square-kilometer arctic volcanic island partly covered by glaciers and divided into two parts by a narrow isthmus. ...

Implementation

The ten countries who signed on May 1, 2004 are set to implement the treaty in October 2007. Switzerland also has to implement the treaty; therefore only fifteen countries are currently full members of the Schengen Treaty. March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

There are some countries other than the Schengen signatories that should also be mentioned:

Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City although not formally part of the Schengen zone are integrated into it. Andorra, however, is not similarly integrated into the Schengen zone and border controls remain. None of these states have concluded agreements on the Traditional Free Movement of Persons with the European Community and are not signatories to the Treaty; however they have existing agreements with their neighbouring countries removing border controls. In the case of Monaco, which borders onto the Mediterranean Sea, the Schengen Treaty is administered as if Monaco were a part of France, with French authorities carrying out the Schengen checks at Monaco's sea port. Liechtenstein is not yet part of the Schengen area; it has an open border with Switzerland (which has not yet implemented the treaty) but border controls are still carried out between it and its EU neighbours. As part of the European Economic Area it applies the Traditional Free Movement of Persons acquis of the European Community; Liechtenstein intends to adhere to the Schengen area and negotiations will start in the Autumn of 2005. 1 Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... Map of the EEA countries. ...

Treaty provisions

Before Schengen, citizens of western European countries could travel to neighbouring countries by showing their national ID card or passport at the border. Nationals of some other countries required separate visas for every country in Europe they wished to visit. A vast network of Border posts existed around the continent, disrupting traffic, trade and causing delays and costs to both businesses and visitors.

The Schengen Treaty removed border checks between participating countries. The Schengen Treaty also means that participating countries will co-ordinate their external controls. This is necessary since a person acceptable to one country but not to another can still enter both, if one admits him. For example, immigration policy must be agreed upon as immigrants can enter through the most relaxed border and make their way to less hospitable countries once within Schengenland unless entry criteria are homogeneous.

A country is permitted by the article 2.2 of the treaty to reinstate border controls for a short period if it is deemed in the interest of national security. This occurred in Portugal during the 2004 European Football Championship and in France for the ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of D-Day. It was used again by France shortly after the London bombings in July of 2005 (This was despite the fact that the UK is not part of Schengen and the France-UK border controls were always in place. One of the bombers anyway managed to pass unimpeded through France, only to be arrested in Rome). Finland briefly reinstated border controls during the 2005 World Championships in Athletics that took place in Helsinki Olympic Stadium during August 2005. Euro 2004 Logo The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called Euro 2004, was held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... The 7 July 2005 London metro bombings (also known as 7-7) were a series of co-ordinated suicide bombings on the London Underground metro train system which killed 52 civilians and injured over 700 people. ... Helsinki Olympic Stadium at the opening day of the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. ... Categories: Buildings and structures stubs | Stadiums | Helsinki | Finnish sport ...

The Schengen Treaty also includes consent to share information about people, via the Schengen Information System. This means that a potentially undesirable person cannot 'disappear' simply by moving from one participant country to another as each country will know the same about the person's background. Schengen Information System, also known as SIS, is an information system used in a number of European countries that provides data on persons or objects, as recorded by the participant countries. ...

Previously, a criminal with police in hot pursuit would be safe once they managed to cross the border, but under the agreements of the Schengen Treaty police from one nation can cross national borders to chase their target.

The Schengen Treaty intends to harmonise the laws and regulations of several policy areas, in order to minimise the extent to which criminals can take advantage of the relaxation of controls. For example, the Dutch policy on drugs differs from the French policy, and a person could buy drugs in the Netherlands and transport them to France to sell on the black market. This is much easier when there are no border controls between the two countries. As a result of this particular difference in policy France insisted on maintaining border controls on people entering France from the Benelux countries for some time after the Treaty was implemented. The black market is the sector of economic activity involving illegal economic dealings, typically the buying and selling of merchandise illegally. ... Benelux Benelux Benelux is the region of Europe comprising Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. ...

Schengen and the European Union

All Schengen Treaty signatories except Norway, Iceland and Switzerland are European Union members. Two EU members (the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) have opted not to sign the Schengen Treaty. The UK wishes to maintain its own borders and Ireland has a free movement arrangement with the UK (called the Common Travel Area) similar to the Schengen Treaty, so in order to maintain this it can only sign the Schengen Treaty if the UK does. Because of the island nature of the British Isles and also because neither country issues ID cards to their nationals, there would be relatively few benefits to joining the treaty (Denmark issues CPR (Central Person Register) numbers to its citizens for the government-provided services instead of national ID cards). Also the UK has historically been reluctant to relax border controls because of its strict rules on bringing live animals into the country—the British Isles are free of rabies unlike much of Europe. The Common Travel Area or, informally the passport free zone, refers to the fact that citizens of the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and Crown Dependencies (the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey) may travel between their countries without a passport. ... The British Isles consist of Great Britain, Ireland and a number of much smaller surrounding islands. ...

Non-EU nationals living in the UK and Ireland would however benefit from the UK and Ireland joining the Schengen area, as they currently need to obtain separate UK, Irish and Schengen visas in order to travel within the EU. On May 29, 2000 the UK and Ireland began participating in the Schengen Information System. May 29 is the 149th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (150th in leap years). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Schengen Information System, also known as SIS, is an information system used in a number of European countries that provides data on persons or objects, as recorded by the participant countries. ...

The Nordic countries have had a similar open borders scheme in effect between them since 1952, preserving this was the major reason for the non-EU countries of Norway and Iceland to join. The Nordic countries (Greenland not shown) The Nordic countries, also referred to as Norden (The North), and as Scandinavia, is a term used collectively for five countries in Northern Europe. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Schengen Treaty was created independently of the European Union in part due to the lack of consensus amongst EU members, and in part because those ready to implement the idea did not wish to wait for others who were not ready.

The Treaty of Amsterdam incorporated the developments brought about by the Schengen agreement into the European Union framework, effectively making the Schengen Treaty part of the EU. Amongst other things the Council of the European Union took the place of the Executive Committee which had been created under the Schengen agreement. Future applicants to the European Union must fulfil the Schengen Treaty criteria regarding their external border policies in order to be accepted into the EU. The existing signatories who are not EU members have less opportunity to participate in shaping the evolution of the Schengen Treaty as a result of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Their options are effectively reduced to agreeing with whatever is presented before them or withdrawing from the Treaty. The Amsterdam Treaty (in full: Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts) which was signed on October 2, 1997, and entered into force on May 1, 1999, made substantial changes to the Treaty on European Union which... The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ...

Despite the Schengen Treaty having been incorporated into the EU, it has not been voted upon by any EU institution. Because of this, there are some concerns regarding the democratic accountability of the Treaty. Greece, prior to accepting and signing the treaty, raised questions about the legality of the Schengen Information System, and suggested that it represented a violation of privacy.

Additionally, The Schengen III treaty was signed on 27 May, 2005 by seven contries at Prüm, Germany. The treaty with which was agreed upon by Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, and Belgium is different from the Schengen treaty, but it's very similar in the sense that the Schengen treaty before the Treaty of Amsterdam was formed and approved by some of the energetic European contries having a same purpose. This treaty, based on the Principle of Availability which began to be discussed after the Madrid bomb attack on 11 March, 2004, could enable them to exchange all data regarding DNA, fingerprint data of concerned persons, and to cooperate against terrorism. The Amsterdam Treaty (in full: Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts) which was signed on October 2, 1997, and entered into force on May 1, 1999, made substantial changes to the Treaty on European Union which... The scene of one of the Madrid bombings. ...

Gaining entry

Member States of the Schengen area have elaborated uniform rules as to the type of visas which may be issued for a short-term stay, not exceeding three months, on the territory of one, several or all of those States. An entry visa valid in all Schengen treaty countries Visas for Laos, Thailand, and Sri Lanka A visa (short for the Latin carta visa, lit. ...

The uniform visa enables aliens that are subject to the visa requirement to present themselves at the external border of the Member State which issued the visa or that of another Member State and request, depending on the type of visa, transit or stay. The uniform visa is granted in the form of a sticker affixed by a Member State onto a passport, travel document or another valid document which entitles the holder to cross the border. The title page of European Union passports bears the name European Union, then the name of the issuing country, in the official languages of all EU countries. ...

In other words, mere possession of a uniform visa does not confer automatic right of entry. It will only be granted if the other transit or entry conditions laid down by the Schengen Agreement have been met, notably the means of subsistence that aliens must have at their disposal, as well as the purpose and the conditions of the stay. The following is a list of subsistence techniques: Hunting and Gathering, also known as Foraging freeganism involves gathering of discarded food in the context of an urban environment gleaning involves the gathering of food that traditional farmers have left behind in their fields Cultivation Horticulture - plant cultivation, based on the...

Obtaining a Schengen visa means that the traveller must go through the following steps:

For citizens of countries not party to the Schengen treaty, restrictions exist that govern the length of one's stay within the Schengen area. The general rule stipulates a maximum 90-day stay within a 180-day period beginning from the first day of entry. Provided a multiple-entry visa has been granted, one may leave and return a number of times within the 180-day period but the combined stay within the region must total no more than 90 days. A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one nation state present in another nation state to represent the sending state in the receiving State. ... A consulate (or consular office) is a form of diplomatic mission in charge of matters related to individual people and businesses, in other words issues outside inter-governmental diplomacy. ... Seal on the building of German Embassies. ... Repatriation (from late Latin repatriare - to restore someone to his homeland) is a term used to describe the process of return of refugees or soldiers to their homes, most notably following a war. ...

External links

Categories: European Union law | European Union treaties Image File history File links European_flag. ... The European Union (EU) was originally created by the six founding states in 1952, but has grown to its current size of 25 member states. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... Motto: Pravda vÃtÄ›zÃ (Czech for Truth prevails) Anthem: Kde domov mÅ¯j Capital Prague Largest city Prague Official language(s) Czech Government President Prime Minister Republic VÃ¡clav Klaus JiÅ™Ã Paroubek Formation Independence â€¢ Regained â€¢ Dismemberment 9th century October 28, 1918 January 1, 1993 Area â€¢ Total â€¢ Water (%) 78,866... For an explanation of terms like England, (Great) Britain and United Kingdom see British Isles (terminology) Motto: Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)3 Anthem: God Save the Queen4 Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English de facto 5 Government Monarch Prime... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Contents

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