What does Schengen mean?

Schengen countries refer to the member countries that have signed the Schengen Convention.

1In June, 985, the five countries signed the Schengen Convention in the small Luxembourg city. The Convention came into full force in July 1995. The member countries of the Schengen Convention are also called "Schengen countries" or "Schengen countries", and the whole member country is also called "Schengen area".

The purpose of the Schengen Convention is to cancel the border checkpoints between them and coordinate the border control outside the Schengen area. That is, the border control between member States will be abolished, and people holding valid identity cards or visas of any member state can move freely within the territory of all member States. According to the agreement, tourists can legally visit all other Schengen countries as long as they have a valid visa in one of them.

Later, it joined many countries one after another. There are 26 Schengen countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Estonia and Latvia.

Lithuania, Malta, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Among them, Schengen countries are all EU countries except Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. On the contrary, Ireland, Romania and Bulgaria are EU countries, but they are not members of the Schengen Agreement.

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The role played by the Schengen Convention:

The Schengen countries canceled their internal borders, which greatly facilitated the free flow of people, goods, funds and services within the EU. Citizens of EU member States and foreigners from any country will also have the right to travel freely in Schengen countries as long as they have obtained legal residence and entry visas in one of them. Therefore, it is welcomed by most EU residents and many foreign tourists.

With the refinement of the Schengen Convention, member countries have cooperated in education, health and social services, so that citizens of the member countries of the Convention can benefit from the integration results in many fields.

Luc Freeden, Luxembourg's Minister of Justice, who held the rotating presidency of the European Union at that time, said in a speech at the 20th anniversary ceremony of Schengen's signing of the Schengen Convention that the Schengen Convention has brought great convenience to the lives of European people and enhanced the unity and trust among EU member states.

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