Schengen Agreement and the freedom of movement

Travelers between European countries are now used to the absence of border controls on roads and at airports.

This was made possible by an initiative taken in 1985 by Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to phase out checks on the movement of people at their common borders. This led to the Schengen Agreement in 1990.

One after the other, all European Union (EU) countries have joined those first pioneers, except for the United Kingdom and Ireland. Outside the member states, the Agreement is also going to be applied by Norway and Iceland, so that no new border will be erected between the Nordic countries, whether they belong to the EU or not.

The Arrangement was incorporated by the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 into the EU's single institutional framework. Applying the system of "closer cooperation", the 13 Schengen countries will continue their cooperation within the legal order established by the new treaty.

In short, the Schengen Agreement provides free passage for everyone crossing these borders, whether they are nationals of a EU member state or not. As a consequence, third country nationals such as Indonesians will require only one visa to visit most EU member states.