The Schengen area and cooperation The Schengen area and
cooperation are founded on the Schengen Agreement of 1985. The
Schengen area represents a territory where the free movement of
persons is guaranteed. The signatory states to the agreement
have abolished all internal borders in lieu of a single external
border. Here common rules and procedures are applied with regard
to visas for short stays, asylum requests and border controls.
Simultaneously, to guarantee security within the Schengen area,
cooperation and coordination between police services and
judicial authorities have been stepped up. Schengen cooperation
has been incorporated into the European Union (EU) legal
framework by the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997. However, all
countries cooperating in Schengen are not parties to the
Schengen area. This is either because they do not wish to
eliminate border controls or because they do not yet fulfil the
required conditions for the application of the Schengen acquis.
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