13-06-2025
As Europe's free-travel zone turns 40, is Schengen under threat?
On June 14, 1985, government representatives from Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands gathered on a boat in a small Luxembourg village.
The symbolic location – on the Moselle River at the point where France, Luxembourg, and Germany meet – was the town of Schengen.
It was there, 40 years ago, that the Schengen Agreement was signed.
The deal aimed to gradually eliminate border checks between member states, paving the way for the free movement of people. It was fully implemented in 1995, creating a passport-free travel zone across much of Europe.
Today, the Schengen area is made up of 29 countries: 25 EU members plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Ireland and Cyprus are the only two EU members not signed up. The former has not joined as it has a common travel area with the United Kingdom and it would create border headaches, while the latter is currently in the process of joining.
Other countries want to enter the club, such as Albania, which has growing economic, political, and security cooperation with Schengen countries and has benefited from visa-free travel since 2010.
Often described as a cornerstone of European integration, Schengen enjoys strong public support. In a Eurobarometer poll from October, 72% of respondents identified it as one of the European Union's most important achievements.
The economic benefits of Schengen
Romania and Bulgaria's full accession to the Schengen club in January - after years of delay - underscores why. The full removal of border checks has ushered in noticeable economic benefits.
The move has boosted Romania's appeal to foreign investors, according to Finance Minister Tánczos Barna. The elimination of border controls has simplified logistics, cut waiting times and reduced costs, making Romania more competitive across European markets.
In Bulgaria, then-premier Nikolay Denkov called the milestone "the greatest success of Bulgarian diplomacy" since joining the EU in 2007.
Dimitar Dimitrov, of the Chamber of Bulgarian Road Hauliers, said border delays with Romania had previously cost the sector around €300 million ($345 million) annually, with an average waiting time of 10 to 15 hours.
Likewise in Croatia, which joined in 2023, Schengen membership enjoys near-universal support.
The abolition of border controls is extremely important for Croatia as a tourist destination, given that many come by car. Since joining Schengen, kilometre-long queues at the border crossings with Slovenia and Hungary in the summer months have disappeared.
Is the Schengen area being eroded?
Despite its many benefits, the Schengen area has faced challenges too, particularly in the last decade.
Several countries have reintroduced border controls, usually in a bid to curb migration and terrorism. Since such spot checks don't target every car crossing the border, many travellers experience little to no disruption - unlike during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many countries closed their borders almost entirely at times.
In response to the terrorist attacks of November 2015, France reinstated spot checks at its land, sea and air borders with other Schengen members. It has renewed the scheme every six months since then, most recently for the period through October 2025.
In 2015, Austria also introduced temporary border checks with Slovenia and Hungary in response to high levels of migration, but these have been repeatedly extended, causing difficulties for cross-border businesses and travellers.
In October 2023, Slovenia imposed checks at its borders with Hungary and Croatia. Previously, Italy had reinstated border controls with Slovenia due to increased migration flows along the so-called Balkan route and national security concerns.
Reimposing controls
The European Commission says temporary border checks are allowed "in the event of a serious threat to public policy or internal security" but that they must be applied as a last resort measure, in exceptional situations.
Countries can introduce the checks if they provide a valid justification and they can be extended every six months, usually up to two years. The justification then has to be changed for border checks to remain in place.
Currently Slovenia, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Bulgaria and Italy have temporarily reintroduced border controls to some extent.
Germany's new government has increased border patrols since it took office last month, to the frustration of some neighbouring countries.
"We must avoid creating borders in people's minds again. Schengen must live on," Luxembourg Interior Minister Léon Gloden said in a meeting with his German counterpart Alexander Dobrindt at the end of May.
The mayor of Strasbourg and her counterpart across the Rhine river in the German town of Kehl have complained about the ramped-up border checks between them, in a protest letter to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The mayors say this is hurting daily life and causing fewer Strasbourg shoppers to visit Kehl.
Over the past ten years, Germany has gradually reintroduced temporary checks along all of its land borders in a bid to reduce irregular migration.
But the new government which took office on May 6 has since intensified the checks, as well as allowing border guards to reject those looking to claim asylum.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has also criticised the move, which has seen thousands of migrants sent back across the border from Germany. He threatened on Wednesday to introduce temporary border controls with Germany, should the pressure on border regions persist.
Some countries avoid border checks
Several Schengen countries have resisted the trend among their neighbours to reimpose border controls.
Belgium has rarely tightened its border rules, only doing so temporarily during the pandemic in 2021. That's telling, considering that Belgium, like its neighbours, has come under pressure from migration and security incidents, such as the 2016 terror attacks in Brussels.
Whenever neighbouring France, Germany or the Netherlands have reintroduced border controls, Belgium has defended the free movement of goods and tried to make sure trade was not overly disrupted.
Likewise, Portugal has not reinstated border controls, except for some major events like the pope's 2010 visit to Lisbon and the pandemic.
Portuguese public opinion has remained largely supportive of Schengen membership, viewing it as a symbol of European integration and freedom of movement, despite growing awareness of the associated security and migration control challenges.
Schengen museum
The changing attitude of some countries towards the Schengen area has been noticed by the curator of a museum dedicated to it, in the Luxembourg town where it all began.
Following renovations, the museum will be reopened on Saturday as part of celebrations marking the 40th anniversary.
Much has changed since the museum first opened in 2010, said its director Martina Kneip.
"Back then, open borders were actually celebrated," she said. With Covid-19 and the refugee crisis, the sudden cry was: "Schengen is dead and no one wants it anymore, it's to blame for everything."
The museum wanted to respond to this change in perception – one reason for the renovations.
In the museum, everyone can see for themselves "how valuable and meaningful the idea of Schengen is," said Schengen mayor Michel Gloden.
"We have succeeded in dismantling the borders between countries and the borders in people's minds must never be allowed to reappear."
The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, ATA, Belga, BTA, dpa, EFE, HINA, LUSA, STA and PAP as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project.
