As "Russkaya Germaniya" notes, it refers to both the Schengen Agreement, the Schengen Area, and the Schengen visa. However, not everyone knows that originally it was just the name of a picturesque Luxembourg village near the border with Germany and France.<\/p>
Near Schengen, on the pleasure boat "Princess Marie-Astrid" on the Moselle River, an agreement was signed on the gradual abolition of border controls between five European countries (West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France). It significantly simplified the movement of goods, capital, and people, thereby contributing to the formation of a common market in Europe. In honor of the place of signing, the agreement was named the Schengen Agreement.<\/p>
The need to further simplify border procedures led to the signing of the Schengen Convention by the same countries on June 19, 1990, supplementing the Schengen Agreement. It implied a complete abolition of passport controls at internal borders and the establishment of a common visa policy. It was then that the concept of the "Schengen Area" emerged, which now includes 26 European states.<\/p>
The treaty came into force only in 1995, due to the search for consensus on legal issues of border control. Other countries gradually joined the Schengen Agreement (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Austria), as well as the member states of the Nordic Passport Union (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden).<\/p>
An important date in Schengen's history was November 2, 1997, when an amendment to the EU treaty was made at the intergovernmental conference in Amsterdam. According to the Amsterdam Treaty, the Schengen Agreement was incorporated into EU law. From then on, all EU member states were obliged to implement Schengen rules. Subsequently, countries joining the EU automatically agreed to comply with Schengen rules.<\/p>
But every rule has exceptions: currently, there are EU member states that, for various reasons, only partially apply Schengen law (Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Cyprus) or do not apply it at all (Ireland and the recently departed UK). At the same time, four non-EU states have joined the Schengen Area and follow its legislation: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.<\/p>
In addition, there are microstates formally outside the EU that are not legally part of the Schengen world but de facto comply with Schengen requirements (Monaco, Vatican City, San Marino).<\/p>
Besides freedom of movement, an important task of the Schengen Agreement has been and remains ensuring security at external borders. Its key component is the Schengen Information System (SIS). It has been operational since 1995 and is a closed database.<\/p>
Initially, SIS contained data on persons who violated visa regulations, were wanted, or missing, forged documents, as well as items reported as stolen or lost. In 2013, SIS was supplemented with the Visa Information System (VIS), containing biometric data of travelers.<\/p>
The existence of a unified database and cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities of participating countries helps curb the growth of crime in conditions of open borders.<\/p>
The emergence of alliances for creating free trade relations and a unified visa regime is widespread in modern society. Examples include Latin American unions: the Pacific Alliance (Alianza del Pacífico; comprising Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Chile) and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), as well as the East African Community (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines).<\/p>
Moreover, negotiations have long been underway to introduce an "Asian Schengen" – the "Silk Road" visa (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other potential participants from Central Asia). Nevertheless, the success, fame, and scale of the Schengen Agreement remain unmatched to this day.<\/p>