Schengen Agreement: 50 years of freedom and new challenges!

Schengen Agreement: 50 years of freedom and new challenges!

Frankfurt (Oder), Deutschland - On June 14, 1985, a milestone of European cooperation was set in the picturesque municipality of Schengen in Luxembourg: the Schengen Agreement. Signed together by the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France and Luxembourg, it should reduce the person controls at the internal borders and herald a new era of travel within Europe. Today, 40 years later, the Schengen area, which now includes almost all EU member states as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland, is celebrated in the media. But the dismantling of border controls is not without challenges

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In an interview with Radioeins, the political scientist Prof. Dr. Funda Tekin about the current tensions between freedom and security within the Schengen area. Around 420 million people have been enjoying traveling uninhibited since 1985, but the Member States meet increasingly complex challenges, such as migration management and securing the external borders. Germany's temporary restoration of border controls is only an example of how sensitive the balance is between openness and security.

critical challenges and migration dynamics

In 2015, the EU experienced a dramatic increase in illegal border crossings at the external borders, with up to 1.83 million registered cases. This number was reduced to around 200,000 by 2021. A reason to calm down? Not quite. As explained on europarl.eu, the EU has created new instruments and agencies to overcome these challenges-including the Schengen information system and the European agency for the border and Coast guard (Frontex). These measures should better check the external borders and improve the processing of asylum applications.

But where is humanity? Critics point out that the interaction between security and the treatment of people in need of protection, especially unaccompanied minor migrants, could falter. The fund for integrated border management (IBMF) promotes the capacities of the Member States, but also influences the respective asylum procedure.

The development of the Schengen area and current discussions

The Schengen area was not always a guaranteed freedom for travelers. Historical reviews show that the successes of the Agreement in 1985 were based on decades of political efforts that extended from the Roman contracts of the 1950s to the introduction of the Schengen protocol in 1997. Old security concerns had repeatedly led to setbacks in the past.

Despite the challenges, the vision of a common European asylum system remains, even if there are regional imbalances that affect countries such as Greece. bpb emphasizes that the responsibility for the protection of seeking persons is unequal.

The creation of a harmonized system, as the European travel information and approval system (ETIAS) targets from mid -2025, could be a solution. Travelers who arrive without a visa are checked in the EU before they arrive. The challenges are complex, but hope for a united and just Europe remains strong.