A territory comprising several European countries without internal borders.

In 1985, five EU countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) agreed to abolish all checks on people travelling between them, named after the town in Luxembourg where the original agreement was signed. The Schengen countries introduced a common visa policy for the whole area and agreed to establish effective controls at its external borders. Checks at the internal borders may be carried out for a limited period if public order or national security makes this necessary. Step by step, the Schengen area has been extended to include most (but not all) EU member states plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and the agreement has become an integral part of the EU Treaties.

For more information, see Practice note, Introduction to the European Union: Schengen countries.