Schengen Area marks 40-year anniversary

Four decades ago, in Luxembourg, five European states laid the foundations for a common travel area without border controls. Switzerland joined up in 2008. But in recent years, several countries have reintroduced controls for security reasons. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox On June 14, 1985, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg signed an agreement in Schengen, Luxembourg, on the gradual removal of checks at their internal borders. The agreement to abolish border controls came into force some ten years later, in March 1995. Four decades later, the Schengen Area includes 29 European states, home to more than 450 million people. Some 3.5 million people cross an internal border every day. Swiss involvement Switzerland is part of Schengen thanks to the Bilateral Agreements II. Since December 12, 2008, people have been able to cross from the country into neighbouring states without checks. The abolition of airport controls for destinations ...