Schengen Area
The Schengen Area is an area comprising 26 European states that have
officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at
their mutual borders. The area mostly functions as a single jurisdiction for
international travel purposes, with a common visa policy. The area is named
after the 1985 Schengen Agreement.
22 of the 28 EU member states participate in the Schengen Area. Of the
six EU members that are not part of the Schengen Area, four—Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, and Romania—are legally obliged to join the area in the future, while
the other two—Ireland and the United Kingdom—maintain opt-outs. 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. Three European microstates that are
not members of the European Union but which are enclaves or semi-enclave within
an EU member state—Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City—are de facto part of
the Schengen Area.
Schengen
Area Countries
The 26 Schengen countries
are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Currently, the Schengen Area consists
of 26 member countries. All of these countries are located in Europe, from
which:
·
22
members fully implement the Schengen Aquis,
·
Four of
them – members of the EFTA, implement Schengen Aquis through Specific
Agreements related to the Schengen Agreement.
·
Iceland,
Norway, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein are associate members of the Schengen Area
but are not members of the EU.
·
Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City have opened
their borders with, but are not members of the visa free zone.
·
The
Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands are special members of the EU and part
of the Schengen Zone even that they are located outside the European continent.
·
There are
six more EU members, that have not joined Schengen zone: Ireland and United
Kingdom – that still maintain opt-outs and Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and
Cyprus – that are required to and are seeking to join soon.
The external borders of the
Schengen Zone reach a distance of 50,000 km long, where 80% of it is comprised
of water and 20% of the land. The area counts hundreds of airports and maritime
ports, many land crossing points, an area of 4,312,099 km2, and a population of
419,392,429 citizens.
