Schengen Area

Schengen Area
Map of the Schengen Area
  Schengen Area
  Countries with open borders to the Schengen area
  Members of the EU committed by treaty to join the Schengen Area in the future
TypeOpen border area of the European Union
Members
Establishment26 March 1995
Area
• Total
4,368,693 km2 (1,686,762 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate
423,264,262
• Density
96.9/km2 (251.0/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)2016 estimate
• Total
US$15 trillion[1]

The Schengen Area (English: /ˈʃɛŋən/ SHENG-ən, Luxembourgish: [ˈʃæŋən] ) is an area encompassing 27 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice policy of the European Union (EU), it mostly functions as a single jurisdiction under a common visa policy for international travel purposes. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement and the 1990 Schengen Convention, both signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.

Of the 27 EU member states, 23 participate in the Schengen Area. Of the four EU members that are not part of the Schengen Area, three — Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania — are legally obliged to join the area in the future. Romania and Bulgaria are in the process of joining, with air and maritime controls being lifted on 31 March 2024. Ireland maintains an opt-out, and instead operates its own visa policy. The four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, are not members of the EU, but have signed agreements in association with the Schengen Agreement. Also, three European microstatesMonaco, San Marino, and Vatican City—maintain open borders for passenger traffic with their neighbours, and are therefore considered de facto members of the Schengen Area.[2]

The Schengen Area has a population of more than 423 million people and an area of 4,368,693 square kilometres (1,686,762 sq mi).[3] About 1.7 million people commute to work across an internal European border each day, and in some regions these people constitute up to a third of the workforce. In 2015, there were 1.3 billion crossings of Schengen borders in total. Fifty-seven million crossings were due to transport of goods by road, with a value of €2.8 trillion.[4][5][6] The decrease in the cost of trade due to Schengen varies from 0.42% to 1.59% depending on geography, trade partners, and other factors. Countries outside of the Schengen Area also benefit.[7] States in the Schengen Area have strengthened border controls with non-Schengen countries.[8]


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  1. ^ "IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO), April 2016 - knoema.com". Knoema.
  2. ^ "Tourist, Student and Work visa to Europe". Swift Tourism. 2010. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  3. ^ European Commission (12 December 2008). The Schengen Area (PDF). European Commission. doi:10.2758/45874. ISBN 978-92-79-15835-3. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference europarl was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ European Council on Foreign Relations (2016). "The Future of Schengen". Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  6. ^ "Schengen's economic impact: Putting up barriers". The Economist. 6 February 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference CEPR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "The refugee crisis: Fixing Schengen is not enough". Retrieved 14 December 2018.

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