What is Schengen Area?
[[File:Schengen Area.svg|250px|thumb|{{legend|#A4C2D9|Schengen Area}}{{legend|#A2D78D|Legally bound to join}}]]The '''Schengen Area''' is an area that includes 29 [[Europe]]an countries. All of those countries have signed the [[Schengen Agreement]] in [[Schengen]], [[Luxembourg]] in [[1985]]. The Schengen area removes [[passport]] control between its member countries. This means travelers who go from one Schengen country to another do not clear immigration checks anymore. Passengers go through [[immigration]] checks if they enter or exit the Schengen Area. The current members of the Schengen Area are [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Croatia]], [[Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Estonia]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[Hungary]], [[Iceland]], [[Italy]], [[Latvia]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Lithuania]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Malta]], [[Netherlands]], [[Norway]], [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[Slovenia]], [[Spain]], [[Sweden]] and [[Switzerland]]. Because Switzerland is not part of the [[European Economic Area]], customs control in Switzerland still exists. At this moment, over 420 million people live in the area. The territory covers 4,312,099 square kilometres. == History == On [[14 June]] [[1985]] the Schengen Agreement was signed. This happened on the boat ''Princess Marie-Astrid'' in the middle of the river [[Moselle River|Moselle]]. On that place, the borders of France, Germany and Luxembourg meet. Five countries signed the Agreement: [[Belgium]], [[France]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Netherlands]] and [[West Germany]]. It was signed, but that didn't mean it was already implemented. In [[26 March]] [[1995]], all [[European Union]] members (except the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]]) signed the Agreement. Norway and Iceland also signed the Agreement. On [[1 May]] [[2004]], the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia joined the EU. They signed the Schengen agreement on that same day. They implemented the