Schengen agreement

Schengen countries
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Italy
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden

The agreement emerged outside the framework of the European Union, and was initially signed by Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in 1985.

Ten other countries - not all EU member states - have since joined them.

As freedom of movement is one of the main objectives of the European Union, the Treaty of Amsterdam agreed to incorporate Schengen into EU law.

But the UK and Ireland remained outside the agreement due to fears of terrorism.

Iceland and Norway signed an agreement with the EU in 1999 to involve them with the development of Schengen.

The agreement came into force in 1995 but has been troubled by fears about illegal immigration and drugs trafficking, particularly from countries such as Italy and Spain which have vulnerable coastlines.