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A sign reading Schengen below a 50 km/h sign
Image: ATP/picture alliance

Schengen area

The area comprises 29 European countries that have abolished internal border controls. Implemented in 1995, it resembles a single state for international travel purposes with external border controls and common visas.

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News

March 31, 2024

EU: Romania and Bulgaria join Schengen area by air and sea

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

A woman with long hair and glasses smiles broadly as she holds up a blue bag that reads 'Visa liberalization for Kosovo #NoVisa'

Kosovo: What has changed with visa-free travel to the EU?

Kosovo: What has changed with visa-free travel to the EU?

For Kosovars, visa-free travel to the EU was introduced on January 1. So far, the anticipated exodus has not occurred.
PoliticsJanuary 17, 2024
The Polish-Ukrainian border with a line of cars

Poland's visa scandal: EU wants answers from PiS on bribes

Poland's visa scandal: EU wants answers from PiS on bribes

Poland says officials didn't take bribes for visas. But the EU isn't satisfied with the explanations coming from Warsaw.
PoliticsSeptember 23, 2023
Illegal migrants walk along a dirt track as they cross the Slovak–Hungarian border near Vyskovce Nad Iplom, Slovakia, September 6, 2023

Slovakia: Will a rise in illegal migration sway voters?

Slovakia: Will a rise in illegal migration sway voters?

The number of illegal migrants entering Slovakia from Hungary has risen. Will it affect the outcome of the election?
MigrationSeptember 22, 2023
DW Sendung Fokus Europa | Grenze Frankreich Italien

France: Fortress or Land of Liberté?

France: Fortress or Land of Liberté?

France is imposing tight border controls on neighboring Italy to make them turn away refugees.
SocietySeptember 14, 202312:00 min
European schengen visa in passport

Morocco: Unauthorized brokers obstructing Schengen visas

Morocco: Unauthorized brokers obstructing Schengen visas

Scheduling appointments for Schengen visas is increasingly handled by online brokers, to the disadvantage of Moroccans.
PoliticsMay 18, 2023
Shiny new euros and cents on a table

EU member Croatia joins the eurozone

EU member Croatia joins the eurozone

2023 rings in change for Croatia, with the country becoming the latest to join the eurozone and the Schengen area.
PoliticsJanuary 1, 2023
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Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

Austrian policemen check passports at the Slovakian border to Austria in Kittsee, Austria

Illegal migration puts Slovakia into Schengen isolation

Relations between Slovakia and the Czech Republic have been strained by the reintroduction of border checks.
PoliticsNovember 18, 2022
Masked border police officer leans into the window of a car where a masked woman sits

Schengen states extend border checks, ignoring EU court

The top EU court found that Germany, Denmark and other Schengen states have no legal basis for extending border checks.
PoliticsNovember 17, 2022