The EU achieves free movement

The end of controls on people and goods on Germany’s western border

In 1985, Germany, France and the Benelux countries signed an agreement in the small Luxembourg town of Schengen to dismantle controls on their shared borders. The aim was twofold: to create a single European market and to improve the freedom of movement for citizens of the participating countries. In 1990, an agreement implementing this decision incorporated a number of measures –police and judicial co-operation, the harmonization of visa and asylum policy and a protected European border – designed to maintain security.

Routine identity checks within the Schengen area were abolished on 26 March 1995 and the zone of free travel was expanded several times after 1998. The benefits have been marred by allegations that the regulations are not always implemented consistently.