Written by Maxi Barr and Samuel Cooper (Year 13)
What is the Schengen Zone?
The borders of 26 European member states are defined as the Schengen zone. Being a member within the confines of this zone allows for political freedoms for citizens of these countries, such as the freedom to unregulated travel and open borders within the zone.
The Schengen Agreement was signed in June 1985 in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg. The Agreement was incorporated into European Union Law by the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 but did not come into effect until 1999. Members of the European Union who have not yet gained inclusion in the zone are Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus, with concerns about their foreign policy and anti-corruption measures delaying their membership.
Until its withdrawal from the Union in 2020, the United Kingdom was also a member state outside the Schengen zone, with Ireland negotiating opt-outs from the area. It also consists of several non-EU member states (Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland), the sole members of the European Free Trade Association.
Advantages of the Schengen Zone:
A big advantage of the Schengen zone is the ability to have unrestricted travel from one member state to another. This allows ease when it comes to complex trade deals as the complexities of allowing border crossing is avoided. The relative ease of trade enabled by the presence of the Schengen zone is what has allowed Europe to be a hub of imports and exports between member states. For geographical partners, such as Germany and France, this has proven to be exceptionally effective and, alongside economically competent planning, the two countries have been the centres of the European economy, both grossing the most consistently since the beginning of the 90s.
Disadvantages of the Schengen Zone:
One issue of freedom of movement on such a large scale is that, for all its claims to benefit the economic growth of a country, it enables a large influx of unskilled labourers whose numbers do not improve the quality of life in either host or departure country. A separate complication is confusion about what voting rights apply; in Switzerland, for example, up to one quarter of the population do not have Swiss passports and many who do own Swiss passports are still deemed as foreigners.
The UK’s pre-Brexit success is also a sign that Schengen does not necessarily provide a significant benefit in trade, with the UK doing well in terms of economic growth and trade, despite not being a member of the zone. Commentators will continue to follow both the UK’s response and growth and new members’ activities over the coming years to determine the relative benefits of Schengen.
The Sixth Form Review 