40 years of the Schengen Area: a Europe without internal borders
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Four decades ago in Luxembourg, five European states laid the foundations for a common travel area without border controls. Switzerland joined up in 2008. But in recent years, several countries have reintroduced controls for security reasons.
On June 14, 1985, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg signed an agreement in Schengen, Luxembourg, on the gradual removal of checks at their internal borders. The agreement to abolish border controls came into force some ten years later, in March 1995.
Four decades later, the Schengen Area includes 29 European states, home to more than 450 million people. Some 3.5 million people cross an internal border every day.
Swiss involvement
Switzerland is part of Schengen thanks to the Bilateral Agreements II. Since December 12, 2008, people have been able to cross from the country into neighbouring states without checks. The abolition of airport controls for destinations within the Schengen Area followed at the end of March 2009.
The treaty text allows participating states to reintroduce temporary border controls in the event of security problems. According to the European Commission, such a measure can only be taken as a “last resort and in exceptional situations” and must respect the “principle of proportionality”.
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Many countries, including Switzerland, have used this instrument, notably during the Covid-19 crisis. Despite the pandemic having since ended, internal border controls have fallen only slightly. Eleven states currently have controls on internal borders, including all of Switzerland’s neighbours.
However, Austria and Italy do not control the border with Switzerland. The states concerned mainly cite the “high level of irregular migration” as justification for these measures. Switzerland recently condemned Germany’s practice.
Strengthening external borders
If internal border controls are to be abolished once again, the external borders will have to be better controlled, according to the latest Schengen report. It is at these borders that border controls must evolve towards a digital system, the report noted.
Amendments to the Schengen acquis are legally binding for Switzerland. In return, Bern has a say in the meetings of the relevant ministers, which take place several times a year.
However, Switzerland does not have the right to vote.
Translated from French by DeepL/dos
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