10 Facts About Schengen Convention

Schengen Convention Agreement is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Convention Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished.

In 1990, the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention which proposed the complete abolition of systematic internal border controls and a common visa policy.

The Schengen Convention Area operates very much like a single state for international travel purposes with external border controls for travellers entering and exiting the area, and common visas, but with no internal border controls.

Schengen Convention is a core part of EU law, and all EU member states without an opt-out which have not already joined the Schengen Convention Area are legally obliged to do so when technical requirements have been met.

Schengen Convention Agreement was signed independently of the European Union, in part owing to the lack of consensus amongst EU member states over whether or not the EU had the jurisdiction to abolish border controls, and in part because those ready to implement the idea did not wish to wait for others .

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In 1990, the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention which proposed the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa policy.

Schengen Agreement and its implementing Convention were enacted in 1995 only for some signatories, but just over two years later during the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference, all European Union member states except the United Kingdom and Ireland had signed the Agreement.

The Schengen Convention itself was not open for signature by non-EU member states.

Now that the Schengen Convention Agreement is part of the acquis communautaire, it has, for EU members, lost the status of a treaty, which could only be amended according to its terms.

Legal acts setting out the conditions for entry into the Schengen Convention Area are now made by majority vote in the EU's legislative bodies.