The European Union’s passportless Schengen area is spending its 25th anniversary effectively suspended and locked down, with temporary restrictions and border controls erected between its member countries because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The border-free zone, named after the eponymous Luxembourg village where the agreement was signed, first came into effect in its current form on 26 March 1995. The original agreement, designed in 1985, had been signed by just five countries: France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands. They agreed to remove passport controls between each other, simplifying travel for millions of people.
After the zone – complete with its common visa policy – was established 1995 it rapidly grew to formally encompass 26 European states both inside and outside the Union. It stretches from Iceland and Norway in the north, to Portugal in the west and runs practically interrupted through to Poland, Finland and Estonia’s eastern borders.
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Other recent EU member states like Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania want to join but have not yet met the conditions to do so: only the UK, and Ireland with its common travel area with Britain, have remained permanently outside.
But the borderless vision has been temporarily suspended during the Co-19 outbreak. Under the agreement, countries can, with notification, temporarily reimpose border checks. 14 states have so far notified the European Commission about their checks – though other countries have reportedly been imposing them informally, too.
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The public health emergency is not the first time in recent memory that borders have sprung back up and the system has been tested: the refugee crisis in 2015 saw checks imposed by several countries.
At the height of the crisis, migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos warned that the area’s future was in jeopardy, and that it could endanger the entire process of integration.
“If Schengen collapses, it will be the beginning of the end of the European project,” the Commissioner told MEPs in January 2016.
This time, the Commission has not issued such a stark warning. But long traffic jams of lorries began to form at various EU crossing last week: the longest of which was on the A4 highway between Germany and Poland, where traffic backed up for 37 miles.
It was this sight that prompted European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to launch an EU-wide travel ban for those arriving in Europe officials said. The hope was that closing the bloc’s external borders would “enable the lifting of internal border control measures, which several member state have recently reintroduced in an effort to limit the spread of the virus”.
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1/50 15 April 2020
Election officials during vote counting at a ballot counting station after voting in the general elections was closed in Seoul, South Korea
EPA
2/50 14 April 2020
Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was damaged in a devastating fire one year ago today
Reuters
3/50 13 April 2020
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4/50 12 April 2020
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10/50 6 April 2020
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11/50 5 April 2020
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15/50 1 April 2020
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16/50 31 March 2020
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17/50 30 March 2020
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18/50 29 March 2020
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19/50 28 March 2020
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20/50 27 March 2020
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21/50 26 March 2020
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22/50 25 March 2020
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23/50 24 March 2020
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24/50 23 March 2020
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25/50 22 March 2020
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26/50 21 March 2020
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28/50 19 March 2020
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29/50 18 March 2020
Sri Lankan police wear face masks a rehearsal parade in Colombo
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30/50 17 March 2020
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31/50 16 March 2020
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32/50 15 March 2020
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33/50 14 March 2020
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34/50 13 March 2020
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35/50 12 March 2020
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36/50 11 March 2020
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37/50 10 March 2020
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38/50 9 March 2020
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39/50 8 March 2020
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41/50 6 March 2020
Police and forensic experts inspect the scene of an explosion near the US embassy in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia
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42/50 5 March 2020
Migrants prepare for the coming night in a forest in the buffer zone at the Turkey-Greece border a crossing point
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43/50 4 March 2020
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44/50 3 March 2020
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45/50 2 March 2020
South Korean soldiers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a market in Daegu
Yonhap/AFP via Getty
46/50 1 March 2020
A woman shouts as law enforcement officials move in to disperse a group of immigrants who had occupied a historic church and a square. They are demanding to be moved to another country as they claim to feel not safe because of xenophobic attacks in central Cape Town, South Africa
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47/50 29 February 2020
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48/50 28 February 2020
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AFP via
49/50 27 February 2020
Snow has fallen in high ground in Tasmania during the Australian summer
Tasmanian Rover Ski Club / Facebook
50/50 26 February 2020
Men ride a motorcycle past security forces patrolling a street in a riot-affected area of Delhi on Wednesday
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1/50 15 April 2020
Election officials during vote counting at a ballot counting station after voting in the general elections was closed in Seoul, South Korea
EPA
2/50 14 April 2020
Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was damaged in a devastating fire one year ago today
Reuters
3/50 13 April 2020
Wild bluebells, which bloom around mid-April turning the forest blue as they form a carpet, are pictured in the Hallerbos in Belgium
Reuters
4/50 12 April 2020
Pope Francis delivers his Urbi et Orbi message following Easter Sunday Mass behind closed doors at St. Peter’s Basilica in The Vatican, during the country’s lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection
VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty
5/50 11 April 2020
A man watches Krakatau spewing ash during an eruption, in Serang, Indonesia’s Banten province
AFP via Getty
6/50 10 April 2020
Women queue for distribution of food for those suffering under Kenya’s coronavirus-related movement restrictions
AP
7/50 9 April 2020
Firefighter Sittiporn Singthong, dressed up as Spider-Man, sprays disinfectant at the Wat Tha Mai Buddhist temple in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand
EPA
8/50 8 April 2020
Tulip fields in Plomeur, western France
AFP via Getty
9/50 7 April 2020
A employee and a resident of the house for the elderly “De Ravenstein” react as nurses dance and sing in the garden, following the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Boortmeerbeek, Belgium
Reuters
10/50 6 April 2020
A man stands in the balcony of his home with the moon in the background in Cali, Colombia
AFP via Getty
11/50 5 April 2020
A man holds a traditional lamp from the balcony of his house as torches and candles illuminate houses and high rise residential buildings as Indians mark the country’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic a suburb of New Delhi, India
AP
12/50 4 April 2020
Medical staff load an infected patient into an ambulance at the Nimes air base, south of France, during an evacuation operation from the hard-hit east of the country where hospitals are overwhelmed
AFP
13/50 3 April 2020
A man prays inside the closed Moussawi Grand Mosque in Basra
AFP via Getty
14/50 2 April 2020
A City Hall health official wearing a protective suit sprays disinfectant at the entrance of City One condominium as the residential building was placed under lockdown after 17 cases of COVID-19 were detected, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
EPA
15/50 1 April 2020
Migrant workers wait on marked areas on the ground to maintain social distancing as they queue to receive food packets at an industrial area during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the Co-19 coronavirus, in Chennai
AFP via Getty
16/50 31 March 2020
Wedding dress and evening wear designer Friederike Jorzig adjusts a mannequin wearing a wedding dress with matching protective mask in her store Chiton in Berlin
AFP via Getty
17/50 30 March 2020
A stray dog walks in front of an empty historic India Gate, as nationwide lockdown continues over the coronavirus in New Delhi, India
Getty
18/50 29 March 2020
A man watches a TV screen showing a file image of North Korea’s missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul
AP
19/50 28 March 2020
Hong Kong’s skyline is seen with some of its lights turned off to mark the Earth Hour, an environmental campaign
AFP/Getty
20/50 27 March 2020
Ukrainian citizens queue at the Polish-Ukrainian border during the coronavirus pandemic in Korczowa, Poland. On 13 March, Poland closed its borders due to the ongoing pandemic of the Co-19 and has extended the measure until at least 11 April
EPA
21/50 26 March 2020
Tenon hospital emergency services staff members gesture during a break, on March 26, 2020 in Paris, as the country is under lockdown to stop the spread of Co-19 disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
AFP via Getty
22/50 25 March 2020
Aerial view showing almost empty streets in Bogota, taken during the lockdown ordered by the government to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus
AFP via Getty
23/50 24 March 2020
Staff members line up to attention as they prepare to spray disinfectant at Wuhan Railway Station. China announced that a lockdown would be lifted on more than 50 million people in central Hubei province where the Co-19 coronavirus first emerged late last year
AFP via Getty
24/50 23 March 2020
A public order agency officer sprays disinfectant over a woman before she enters a local government office as a precautionary move against the spread of the Co-19 coronavirus in Surabaya
AFP via Getty
25/50 22 March 2020
Boys wearing protective and N95 masks play with a football outside their homes in Gaza City
AFP via Getty
26/50 21 March 2020
A woman standing on her balcony reaches out to catch a rose delivered to her via a drone on Mother’s day, in the Lebanese coastal city of Jounieh, north of the capital Beirut, as people remain indoors in an effort to limit the spread of coronavirus. In a quiet Lebanese town under lockdown over the novel coronavirus, a drone buzzed towards a balcony on Saturday to deliver a red rose to a mother grinning in surprise. The COVID-19 pandemic may have put a damper on Mother’s Day this year, but three students have come up with a novel service to celebrate the occasion without flouting social distancing restrictions
AFP via Getty
27/50 20 March 2020
Newlyweds Diego Fernandes, 46 and Deni Salgado, 30, kiss through protective face masks at a wedding ceremony with only witnesses and no guests, as public gatherings are banned as part of Italy’s lockdown measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease in Naples
Reuters
28/50 19 March 2020
Members of a medical assistance team from Jiangsu province chant slogans at a ceremony marking their departure after helping with the Co-19 coronavirus recovery effort, in Wuhan. Medical teams from across China began leaving Wuhan this week after the number of new coronavirus infections dropped. China on reported no new domestic cases for the first time since it started recording them in January, but recorded a spike in infections from abroad
AFP via Getty
29/50 18 March 2020
Sri Lankan police wear face masks a rehearsal parade in Colombo
AFP via Getty
30/50 17 March 2020
Divers clean and swipe the floor and walls of a pool at an aquatic complex in Medellin after the closure of all sporting venues in Colombia as a preventive measure against the spread of the Co-19
AFP via Getty
31/50 16 March 2020
Workers spray disinfectant as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus at the Mubarikiya market following the outbreak of coronavirus, in Kuwait City
EPA
32/50 15 March 2020
People gather with their belongings at the scene of the fire outbreak at Abule-Ado in Lagos, Nigeria
Reuters
33/50 14 March 2020
A man feeds pidgeons at Cataluna Square in Barcelona
EPA
34/50 13 March 2020
A mosso de esquadra police officer stands on the closed off road near Igualada, Spain. Over 60,000 people awoke Friday in four towns near Barcelona confined to their homes and with police blocking roads. The order by regional authorities in Catalonia is Spain’s first mandatory lockdown as Co-19 coronavirus infections increase sharply
AP
35/50 12 March 2020
Italian mechanics Giacomo and Alessandro pose at their garage in Rome, as Italy shut all stores except for pharmacies and food shops in a desperate bid to halt the spread of a coronavirus that has killed 827 in the the country in just over two weeks
AFP via Getty
36/50 11 March 2020
Monks pray for victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster during a memorial service on the coast in Iwaki, Fukushima. Japan marked the ninth anniversary of the killer tsunami that triggered the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, but fears about the new coronavirus forced a scaling back of public commemorations
Jiji Press/AFP via Getty
37/50 10 March 2020
Revellers dance as they celebrate Holi, the spring festival of colours in Allahabad
AFP/Getty
38/50 9 March 2020
Medical staff celebrate after all patients were discharged at a temporary hospital set up to treat people with the COVID-19 coronavirus in Wuhan in China
AFP/Getty
39/50 8 March 2020
A hundred members of the conservative activist group called Manif pour Tous (“Protest for Everyone”) dressed as Marianne, French Republic’s allegory, stage a protest against assisted reproductive technology (ART) and surrogacy in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France
AFP/Getty
40/50 7 March 2020
A migrant man runs away as another one takes cover behind a bin as Greek police use water cannons to block them trying to break fences in the Turkey-Greece border province of Edirne
AFP/Getty
41/50 6 March 2020
Police and forensic experts inspect the scene of an explosion near the US embassy in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia
AFP/Getty
42/50 5 March 2020
Migrants prepare for the coming night in a forest in the buffer zone at the Turkey-Greece border a crossing point
AFP/Getty
43/50 4 March 2020
A migrant rests with a child in his arms next to the Tunca river in Edirne, Turkey
Reuters
44/50 3 March 2020
Spanish policemen and civil guards sporting Guy Fawkes masks protest in front of Spanish policemen standing guard during a demonstration to demand fair wages in Madrid
AFP via Getty
45/50 2 March 2020
South Korean soldiers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as part of preventive measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, at a market in Daegu
Yonhap/AFP via Getty
46/50 1 March 2020
A woman shouts as law enforcement officials move in to disperse a group of immigrants who had occupied a historic church and a square. They are demanding to be moved to another country as they claim to feel not safe because of xenophobic attacks in central Cape Town, South Africa
Reuters
47/50 29 February 2020
Greek border guard use teargas to push back migrants who try to enter Greece at the Pazarkule border gate in Edirne, Turkey
AP
48/50 28 February 2020
A woman makes her way and NGO’s members help as a dinghy with 54 Afghan refugees lands ashore the Greek island of Lesbos. Turkey will no longer close its border gates to refugees who want to go to Europe, a senior official told AFP, shortly after the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an airstrike in northern Syria
AFP via
49/50 27 February 2020
Snow has fallen in high ground in Tasmania during the Australian summer
Tasmanian Rover Ski Club / Facebook
50/50 26 February 2020
Men ride a motorcycle past security forces patrolling a street in a riot-affected area of Delhi on Wednesday
Reuters
They warned: “These measures risk having a serious impact on the functioning of the single market as the EU and the Schengen area is characterised by a high degree of integration, with millions of people crossing internal borders every day.”
So far, the external travel ban seems to have done little to open the internal borders, with over a dozen different countries formally notifying of restrictions. Supporters of free movement – and those crossing borders regularly – will hope that when the pandemic finally abates, countries have not got a taste for passport checks.