What is the Schengen Agreement ?
- THE rules of the European Union (EU) enshrine the free
movement of people.
- Freedom of movement has been a part of the European project
since the 1950s.
- Yet Europe's borderless zone only really began to
become a reality in 1985, when several members of the EU, including
France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, met in a village
in Luxembourg called Schengen to sign an agreement to eliminate all
internal border controls.
- This "Schengen agreement", which came into effect
in 1995, eliminated border checks among its members and allowed foreign
visitors to travel throughout the area using one visa.
- Today a total of 26 states, both within or outside the EU,
are members
But the future of the continent’s passport-free zone is
now under threat. Why?
Two forces are pulling Europe apart.
- In the summer of 2015 an unprecedented number of migrants
have arrived on Europe's shores. They tend to go to countries where they
are mostly likely to be allowed to stay, chiefly Germany and Sweden. The
pressure on these countries is growing—Germany expects to receive 800,000 asylum application this year,
nearly four times as many as in 2014. On August 20th Thomas de
Maiziere, Germany’s interior minister, warned that Germany's Schengen
membership may be unsustainable unless other countries share the burden of
accepting asylum seekers. Closed borders would mean that Germany could
turn away people at its borders.
- Terrorism is also a factor. After last week’s thwarted attack on a train from Amsterdam to Paris, the Belgian prime
minister, Charles Michel, called for review of the Schengen rules in a way
that would allow more checks to passengers’ identity and luggage, in
effect reinstating some border controls.
Did ever before was Schengen agreement under threat ?
This is not the first time that the Schengen agreement has
appeared to be in danger of fraying.
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- In
2011, fearing an influx of North African refugees, Italy and France pushed for
a review of the agreement. Earlier this year the Dutch
prime minister threatened Greece with expulsion if it allowed migrants
free passage to the rest of Europe. Neither eventuality came to pass.
- Belgium
or Germany would be within their rights to tighten their borders: the
agreement allows Schengen countries to briefly reinstate border
controls for reasons of national security.
- France
put up its borders after the London tube bombings of 2005 and Portugal did
it during the Euro 2004 football tournament.
- But
if controls remain for more than short periods, they risk reversing
decades of European integration.
How
does Schengen Agreement matter to idea of Europe ?
- The
effects wouldn't just be notional: various studies over the years have
argued that the Schengen agreement led members to form closer trading
partnerships, boosted both imports and exports, and drew tourists.
- Schengen
is among the most visible manifestations of European unity; its erosion
would send a powerful signal.
