Treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished
The Schengen Agreement abolished internal border controls among signatory states, creating a shared travel area now covering 29 countries and over 450 million people.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 14 June 1985
- Original signatories
- 5 of 10 EEC member states
- Current member countries
- 29 European countries
- Population covered
- Over 450 million people
- Area covered
- 4,595,131 km²
- Incorporated into EU law
- 1999, via the Amsterdam Treaty
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Member states of the European Economic Community sought to ease movement of people across their shared borders, driven by growing economic integration and the desire to remove practical barriers to cross-border travel for residents and travellers alike.
On 14 June 1985, five EEC member states signed the Schengen Agreement near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg. The treaty proposed gradual abolition of border checks, including reduced-speed vehicle crossings, freedom for border-area residents, and harmonised visa policies.
The agreement gave rise to the Schengen Area, later supplemented by the 1990 Schengen Convention and incorporated into EU law in 1999. It grew into a zone of 29 countries with no routine internal border controls, functioning like a single state for international travel, though Ireland and the United Kingdom retained opt-outs.
Political Outcome
Creation of the Schengen Area, abolishing systematic internal border controls among member states and establishing a common visa policy, later incorporated into EU law.
Each EEC member state maintained independent border controls and visa policies at national frontiers.
Signatory states ceded control of internal border checks to a collective framework, creating a unified travel area governed by shared external border and visa rules.